National Crime Victims' Rights Week
April 22, 2004

Good morning. On behalf of the dedicated men and women in the Ventura District Attorney's Office, I am pleased to welcome each of you today to Ventura County's celebration of National Crime Victims Week. It is a time to remember the countless lives that have been lost or forever altered by crime in this country. In 2002, there were 23 million violent and property victimizations in America. This included nearly 248,000 rapes and sexual assaults and 16,204 murders.

And at local level, we prosecuted over 30,000 criminal cases last year here in Ventura County. Last year approximately 5000 crime victims came to this courthouse seeking help, restoration and justice. Statistics of course never tell the real personal story.

This truth was sadly; yesterday we witnessed another terrible crime with the heinous murder of California Highway Patrol Officer Thomas Steiner as he left a Pomona courthouse. He was only 35 years old. He left a wife, 3 year old and 13 year old sons. Victimization is not about numbers- it's about real living, breathing people who don't deserve what happens to them.

National Crime Victims Week is also a time to honor and thank those special people who serve these special people who serve these victims by making sure they treated as individuals not numbers. Today we will be paying tribute to small number of individuals and an organization that have given their expertise, time, and hearts to helping others in need.

Above all, today is a time to recognize that more work lies ahead in the fight to ensure that crime victims are treated with respect and dignity. These efforts must not be limited to the cases alone, for the battle to protect crime victims begins with the laws that make up our criminal justice system. As we celebrate today, we must acknowledge that some seek to weaken those laws that protect crime victims and our community.

Indeed, powerful interests appear to have qualified an initiative for the November ballot that would largely gut the provisions of California 's "Three Strikes and You're Out" law - a law that has dramatically helped police and prosecutors better protect our communities. But unfortunately, this good law is under attack. A slickly packaged initiative called "Three Strikes and Child Protection Act of 2004" is going to be on the ballot November. If approved by the voters, it would not only undermine the effectiveness of the original "Three Strikes" law it would result in the immediate release of an estimated 26,000 convicted felons now serving time for "Three Strikes" offenses. In the coming months crimes victims, police and prosecutors with have to once join forces to defeat a fundamentally flawed proposal.

Everyday there are crime victims who demonstrate bravery and courage that words can never adequately describe. They may do so quietly and with little notice by simply going on with their lives, work and family without complaint. And sometimes, they go on in ways that profoundly affect our justice system, other crime victims and entire communities. Today we are honored that one of these warriors is here to speak to us and it is my distinct privilege to introduce him. Child abuse is often called the secret crime because the vast majority of cases go unreported. Our next speaker is a tough guy, he is Marine decorated for saving the lives of other soldiers, a veteran police officer and detective and .he is also a victim of child abuse who is both crusader and compassionate advocate for other child victims. It is my great honor to introduce one of my heroes - Oxnard Police Detective Manuel Vega.