About This Brochure
As a victim or witness, the days and months ahead may be stressful for you and your family. The Missouri State Highway Patrol is concerned about what you may experience as a victim or witness of a crime. It is our policy to recognize and support you as an essential element to effective law enforcement.
The Patrol is committed to providing the best and most modern law enforcement technology available. We maintain a complete and comprehensive criminal laboratory that includes fingerprint identification, ballistics, DNA, and extensive analytical capabilities. But, we still need your help.
Even though this may be a difficult time for you and your family, we need your continued support in our efforts to apprehend criminals and bring them to justice. The criminal justice system relies upon victims, witnesses, and the community to help hold criminals accountable for their actions. In return, victims and witnesses deserve to be treated with fairness, compassion, and dignity.
Victim & Witness Tampering — It's Against the Law
Victims
If you are the victim of a crime, or are acting on behalf of a victim, you have rights. If someone intimidates you or prevents you from:
- Making a report of such victimization to an officer, prosecutor, or judge;
- Making a complaint or assisting in the prosecution of a complaint; or
- Causing the arrest of any person in connection with such victimization.
This is in violation of Missouri law (Section 575.270 RSMo.).
Witnesses
If you witness a crime, and someone attempts to influence you through threats, force, bribery, or intimidation in order to persuade you to disobey a subpoena, withhold evidence or information, or give false testimony:
This is in violation of Missouri law (Section 575.270 RSMo.).
If this is happening to you, in order for the prosecutor to act on it, the incident must be reported to law enforcement and a police report filed. If the tampering is done through the use of social media, print out the tampering evidence or take a screen shot of it and report it to police. Keeping a list of dates and times that you are contacted by the offending party may help the prosecutor. In some cases, a court with jurisdiction over a criminal matter may issue an order of protection for your safety.
Rights For Victims & Witnesses — Section 595.200 RSMo.
The prosecutor and all agencies shall cooperate to afford victims and witnesses the following rights and services. To secure your rights, provide the prosecutor with a written request. You have a right to:
- Attend all proceedings at which the defendant has such right to attend, even if the victim is or may be called to testify.
- Reasonable protection from the defendant or any person acting on behalf of the defendant from harm and threats of harm arising out of your cooperation with justice efforts.
- A secure waiting area during court events.
- Information about the crime and case status, including juvenile cases.
- Timely notification by the prosecutor when a court proceeding will not occur.
- Confer with the prosecutor and be informed of bail hearings, guilty pleas, hearings, sentencing, and probation revocation hearings, and to be heard at such hearings.
- Timely information about the filing of charges or the decision not to file charges, trial hearing dates, continuances, and final disposition of the case.
- Provide a victim impact statement via personal appearance, written statement, video tape, or audio tape.
- Information about procedures to be followed in order to apply for and receive any witness fees.
- Information about the right to restitution.
- Information about victim compensation assistance, and access to copies of completed, unaltered, unedited investigation reports upon request to the appropriate agency.
- Intercession to prevent discipline of a witness by their employer for honoring a subpoena or participating in the criminal proceeding.
- Expedited return of property when no longer needed.
- Creditor intercession services by the prosecutor.
- Notification of any release or escape of defendant from custody (current address must be provided for notice to be given).
Crime Victims' Compensation
The state of Missouri established the Crime Victims' Compensation Fund to reimburse some crime victims for certain financial losses. The parameters of the Crime Victims' Compensation Fund are detailed in Sections 595.010 to 595.220 RSMo. The Crime Victims' Compensation Fund is a payor of last resort, and may withhold, restrict, or deny payment based on fund guidelines.
For more information, an application, and brochure, contact:
Crime Victims' Compensation: 1-800-347-6881
Contact Information
Patrol's Crime Victim Hotline: 1-888-773-1800
Emergency Assistance: 1-800-525-5555 or cellular *55
Road Conditions: 1-888-275-6636
Sex Offender Registry: 1-888-SOR-MSHP (1-888-767-6747)