§ 646-A — Information relative to the fair treatment standards; pamphlet

§ 646-a. Information relative to the fair treatment standards;\npamphlet. 1. The district attorney shall provide the victim, parent or\nguardian of a minor, or a surviving family member in the case of\nhomicide, at the time of sentencing or at the earliest time possible,\nwith an informational pamphlet detailing the rights of crime victims\nwhich shall be prepared by the division of criminal justice services in\nconsultation with the director of the office of victim services and the\noffice of victim assistance, and distributed to each district attorney's\noffice.\n 2. The pamphlet shall summarize provisions of this article. It shall\nalso include specific information with appropriate statutory references\non the following:\n (a) the rights of crime victims to compensation and services;\n (b) the rights of crime victims to routine notification of judicial\nproceedings relating to their case as provided in section six hundred\nforty-one of this article, in section 330.20, section 440.50 and section\n380.50 of the criminal procedure law;\n (c) the rights of crime victims to be protected from intimidation and\nto have the court, where appropriate, issue protective orders as\nprovided in sections 530.12 and 530.13 of the criminal procedure law and\nsections 215.15, 215.16 and 215.17 of the penal law;\n (d) the rights of crime victims to submit, where appropriate, a victim\nimpact statement for the pre-sentencing report and the parole hearing as\nprovided in section 390.30 of the criminal procedure law and section two\nhundred fifty-nine-i of this chapter;\n (e) the rights of crime victims, where a defendant is being sentenced\nfor a felony, to request the right to make a statement at the time of\nsentencing as provided in section 380.50 of the criminal procedure law;\n (f) the rights of crime victims to request restitution and have the\ndistrict attorney present such request to the court and assist the crime\nvictim in the filing and collection of a restitution order in\ncooperation with the designated agency of the court as provided in\nsection 420.10 of the criminal procedure law and section 60.27 of the\npenal law;\n (g) the rights of crime victims to be aware of the defendant's\nincarceration status by providing the department of corrections and\ncommunity supervision's contact information, including the office of\nvictim assistance's toll-free telephone number, as provided for in\nsubdivision two of section two hundred fifty-nine-i of this chapter.\nSuch notice shall advise the crime victim to use the office of victim\nassistance's toll-free telephone number to update contact information;\n (h) the requirement of a victim or a surviving family member to\nregister with the department of corrections and community supervision's\noffice of victim assistance if, at any time, they want to:\n (i) be notified of a defendant's release from a state correctional\nfacility;\n (ii) be notified of parole board interviews with a defendant, and the\nresults of any such interviews; or\n (iii) provide or update a victim impact statement to the board of\nparole; and\n (i) the right of crime victims or surviving family members to obtain,\nat no cost, a copy of the transcripts of parole hearings.\n 3. This pamphlet shall provide space for the insertion of the\nfollowing information:\n (a) the address and phone number of the office of victim services;\n (b) the address and phone number of the department of corrections and\ncommunity supervision's office of victim assistance;\n (c) the address and phone numbers of local victim service programs,\nwhere appropriate;\n (d) the name, phone number and office location of the person in the\ndistrict attorney's office to whom inquiries concerning the victim's\ncase may be directed; and\n (e) any other information the division deems appropriate.\n 4. (a) The commissioner of the division of criminal justice services\nin consultation with the director of the office of victim services and\nthe office of victim assistance, shall develop and prepare a\nstandardized form for the use of district attorney offices for the\npurpose of reporting compliance with this section. The form is to be\ndistributed to each district attorney. Every district attorney's office\nin the state shall complete the reporting form annually and send it to\nthe director of the office of victim services by the first day of\nJanuary each year subsequent to the effective date of this subdivision.\n (b) A copy of the report shall be retained by the district attorney\nand upon request, a victim of a crime or relative of a victim shall be\nentitled to receive from the district attorney a copy of their district\nattorney's annual report without charge. Any other person requesting a\ncopy of the report shall pay a fee not to exceed the actual cost of\nreproduction.\n