Victim Services

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is dedicated to a system of justice that is inclusive of crime victims and will remain vigilant in striving to provide the most efficient and effective service to the people of Arizona. The services provided to crime victims and the technical assistance and support provided to criminal justice agencies and other service providers is the responsibility of the Office of Victim Services.

The mission of the Attorney General’s Office of Victim Services is to promote justice and healing for people affected by crime in the state of Arizona. The Office of Victim Services is broken down into two primary facets, the advocacy and assistance provided to crime victims of cases prosecuted/argued by attorneys of the Attorney General’s Office and the leadership and agency support responsibilities that impact on the legal rights afforded to victims of crime in Arizona. These include: the Victims' Rights Program which provides financial assistance to criminal justice agencies, the Victims' Rights complaint process, and Victims' Rights Training.

MISSION

Lead Arizona’s victims’ rights community by providing trauma-informed services to empower participation, education, and healing for those affected by crime.

VISION

Victims are heard, supported, informed, and protected by a justice system where participants are educated, motivated and accountable.

CORE VALUES

Empathy
Partnership
Integrity
Commitment

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Office of Victim Services (OVS) is a service-oriented section within the Criminal Division of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, established to directly serve crime victims and support the governmental and nonprofit agencies who serve them.

The OVS provides statutorily mandated services to victims of various crimes investigated and/or prosecuted by the Attorney General as well as those crime victims who have requested notice with regard to direct and federal appeals and all appellate activity in death penalty cases. OVS staff also provides more than twenty types of non-mandated services to facilitate recovery from the personal and social effects of victimization.

Furthermore, the OVS Section is statutorily obligated to assist any state, county or municipal entity involved in law enforcement, corrections, prosecution, or the courts and whose duties have been established and defined by Victims’ Rights laws. These entities benefit from the OVS’ annual Victims’ Rights Fund awards, as well as training and technical assistance that advance uniformity, efficiency, and victims’ rights compliance. The OVS has the responsibility to review and investigate victims’ rights complaints to promote compliance with Arizona Victims’ Rights statutes as well as lead and participate in system improvement efforts through task forces, commissions and workgroups.

Victims' Bill of Rights.
Arizona Constitution, Article 2, Section 2.1

(A)To preserve and protect victims' rights to justice and due process, a victim of crime has a right:

To be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, or abuse, throughout the criminal justice process.

To be informed, upon request, when the accused or convicted person is released from custody or has escaped.

To be present at and, upon request, to be informed of all criminal proceedings where the defendant has the right to be present.

To be heard at any proceeding involving a post-arrest release decision, a negotiated plea, and sentencing.

To refuse an interview, deposition, or other discovery request by the defendant, the defendant's attorney, or other person acting on behalf of the defendant.

To confer with the prosecution, after the crime against the victim has been charged, before trial or before any disposition of the case and to be informed of the disposition.

To read pre-sentence reports relating to the crime against the victim when they are available to the defendant.

To receive prompt restitution from the person or persons convicted of the criminal conduct that caused the victim's loss or injury.

To be heard at any proceeding when any post-conviction release from confinement is being considered.

To a speedy trial or disposition and prompt and final conclusion of the case after the conviction and sentence.

To have all rules governing criminal procedure and the admissibility of evidence in all criminal proceedings protect victims' rights and to have these rules be subject to amendment or repeal by the legislature to ensure the protection of these rights.

To be informed of victims' constitutional rights.

(B) A victim's exercise of any right granted by this section shall not be grounds for dismissing any criminal proceeding or setting aside any conviction or sentence.

(C) "Victim" means a person against whom the criminal offense has been committed or, if the person is killed or incapacitated, the person's spouse, parent, child or other lawful representative, except if the person is in custody for an offense or is the accused.

(D) The legislature, or the people by initiative or referendum, have the authority to enact substantive and procedural laws to define, implement, preserve and protect the rights guaranteed to victims by this section, including the authority to extend any of these rights to juvenile proceedings.

(E) The enumeration in the constitution of certain rights for victims shall not be construed to deny or disparage others granted by the legislature or retained by victims.

Below you will find a link to the current Arizona Victims' Rights Law Book compiled by the Office of Victims Services which contains the Victims' Bill of Rights. All Victims' Rights Statutes within the Arizona Revised Statutes according to title adult and juvenile restitution statutes, and other victim-related statutes. We have also provided links to the Arizona State Legislature website to view all Victims' Rights' laws.

2025 Arizona Victims' Rights Law Book

Who Is A Victim?

"Victim" means a person against whom the criminal offense has been committed, including a minor, or if the person is killed or incapacitated, the person's spouse, parent, child, grandparent or sibling, any other person related to the person by consanguinity or affinity to the second degree or any other lawful representative of the person, except if the person or the person's spouse, parent, child, grandparent, sibling, other person related to the person by consanguinity or affinity to the second degree or other lawful representative is in custody for an offense or is the accused. ( A.R.S. § 13-4401(19))

Criminal and juvenile justice statutes allow a victim who is physically or emotionally unable to exercise any right but is able to designate a lawful representative who is not a bona fide witness; the designated person may exercise the same rights that the victim is entitled to exercise. The victim may revoke this designation at any time and exercise his or her victim's rights.

If a victim is incompetent, deceased or otherwise incapable of designating another person to act in the victim's place, the court may appoint a lawful representative who is not a witness. If at any time the victim is no longer incompetent, incapacitated or otherwise incapable of acting, the victim may personally exercise his or her victim's rights.

Although legal entities and neighborhood associations can be considered victims, their rights under Arizona law are limited.

The Arizona Attorney General's Office does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability or sexual orientation in the delivery of services or employment. The Office of Victim Services is a sub-recipient of Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding through the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the US Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime. As a sub-recipient of federal funding, the OVS is required to notify employees, and actual & potential program participants (crime victims) of how they may file a discrimination complaint.

Employees may file a complaint with Human Resources at the Attorney General’s Office, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) at www.eeoc.gov (if an employee files a complaint to the EEOC then a complaint to the Office of Civil Rights is not required), or with any of the programs listed below.

Program participants may file a complaint with:

Office for Civil Rights
Office of Justice Programs
U.S. Dept. of Justice
810 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531

In order to file with the federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR), two forms must be downloaded from the internet and submitted in writing to OCR. The forms can be found at www.ojp.gov/about/ocr/complaint.htm.

-and/or-

Arizona Department of Public Safety
VOCA Administration, MD3915
Civil Rights Coordinator
P.O. Box 6638
Phoenix, AZ 85005-6638