[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 16 (Monday, April 22, 2002)]
[Page 658]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7543--National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 2002

 April 18, 2002

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    Thirty years ago, advocates from some of the most crime-ridden 
neighborhoods of St. Louis, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., founded 
the Nation's first assistance programs for crime victims. These centers 
were established in communities where violence was common, and they were 
clear about their mission: to bring help, hope, and healing to those who 
had suffered the effects of crime. The creation of these victim-
assistance programs launched a movement that brought domestic violence 
shelters, homicide victim support groups, and rape crisis centers to 
help victims in cities and towns throughout the United States.
    The crime victims' rights movement also brought changes in the way 
the criminal justice system treats and interacts with crime victims. In 
many cases, crime victims began to be treated with greater respect and 
to play an important role in criminal justice proceedings.
    In 1982, President Ronald Reagan assembled a task force of nine 
national leaders to travel the country and listen to service providers, 
criminal justice professionals, and victims. The Task Force's Final 
Report listed 68 recommendations for meeting victims' needs, including 
the need for a Federal constitutional amendment. The momentum generated 
by this report helped spur passage of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, 
which now supports thousands of assistance programs throughout the 
Nation. The Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 and other laws 
have given victims of Federal crimes many important rights.
    All 50 States have now passed victims' rights laws, and more than 
half the States have amended their constitutions to guarantee rights for 
crime victims. However, more remains to be done to secure victims' 
rights. I support a Federal Constitutional Amendment to protect the 
rights of victims of violent crime.
    Our Nation has come to realize the tragic toll that crime takes, and 
we have developed the resources to ease crime's physical, emotional, and 
financial impact. This support network, which was already in place on 
September 11, made us better prepared to deal with the unspeakable pain 
and tragedy inflicted by the terrorist attacks. Along with the many 
firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, and rescue workers 
who responded in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, hundreds 
of counselors, chaplains, social workers, volunteers, and victim service 
providers came together for the common purpose of helping the victims, 
the families, and our Nation.
    My Administration has made the fight against crime a top priority. 
But when a crime does occur, I am dedicated to providing assistance and 
comfort to victims and to ensuring that the rights of victims are 
protected. At the time of their great trauma, crime victims deserve 
nothing less than our complete support.
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 21 through April 27, 
2002, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week. I encourage every 
community to embrace the cause of victims' rights and services and to 
advance them in all sectors of our society.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day 
of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
sixth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., April 22, 
2002]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
April 23.