Presidential Document2024-08908
National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 2024
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 24, 2024
Signed
April 19, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 31067-31069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08908]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 24, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 31067]]
Proclamation 10730 of April 19, 2024
National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Each year, millions of Americans become victims of
crime and acts of violence. During National Crime
Victims' Rights Week, we recommit to pursuing justice
for victims and providing them with the support and
resources needed to heal from the emotional,
psychological, physical, and financial scars of those
traumatic experiences. We continue our work to prevent
crime before it occurs. Every American deserves to know
that they, their families, and their communities are
safe and free from violence and crime.
Since I first came to office, my Administration has
been working tirelessly with law enforcement, crime
victims, and other community leaders across the country
to keep Americans safe. Together, we have made historic
progress. Last year, the United States had one of the
lowest rates of all violent crime in more than 50
years. Murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery
all dropped sharply, as did burglary, property crime,
and theft.
Reducing violence and crime is a top priority for my
Administration. We helped cities, counties, and States
invest over $15 billion in fighting crime and
preventing violence. We made the largest-ever Federal
investment in public safety, enabling law enforcement
to better serve their communities--helping to keep
everyone safe. Our investment also has been used to
implement proven crime-prevention strategies like
community violence intervention programs that leverage
community leaders and formerly incarcerated people to
work with young people and those at most risk of
violence, intervening before it is too late with
culturally competent strategies.
As a United States Senator, I supported the law that
established the Crime Victims Fund, which directly
compensates victims and finances victim assistance
services. As President, I signed a law to replenish and
strengthen the fund so that victims can continue to
access the resources they need.
My Administration is also supporting survivors of
gender-based violence. As a Senator, I wrote the
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which brought
survivors' stories into the forefront of the American
consciousness and combatted the scourge of gender-based
violence in America. VAWA has helped fund helplines,
shelters, and rape crisis centers; offered survivors
housing and legal assistance; and trained law
enforcement agencies and courts on ways the justice
system could better assist survivors of gender-based
violence. When we reauthorized VAWA in 2022, we
expanded Tribal courts' jurisdiction so that non-Native
perpetrators of sexual assault, sex trafficking,
stalking, and child abuse can be prosecuted for the
crimes they commit on Tribal lands. VAWA newly
empowered individuals whose intimate visual images are
disclosed without their consent to take perpetrators to
court through a Federal civil cause of action. This
year, I worked with the Congress to increase VAWA's
funding to its highest level in history. Now, more
survivors have access to trauma-informed care,
including those in the LGBTQI+ community and from rural
areas. Additionally, I have spearheaded historic
military justice reforms to better protect victims of
crime in our military and ensure that prosecutorial
decisions in cases of gender-based violence are fully
independent from the chain of command.
[[Page 31068]]
To address the gun violence epidemic in America, I
signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most
significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years. It helps
prevent domestic abusers from purchasing guns, tackles
gun trafficking, provides funding for implementation of
red flag laws, expands background checks, and
strengthens crisis intervention programs and youth
mental health programs. I also formed the first-ever
White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and my
Administration has taken more executive actions to stop
the flow of illegal guns than any other Administration
in history. This new office is coordinating the first
centralized Federal response to mass shootings and
surges in gun violence in order to help victims and
communities address the economic, physical, and
emotional effects of gun violence.
Additionally, my Administration is cracking down on
hate-fueled violence. Early on, I signed into law the
COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act that includes the Khalid
Jabara-Heather Heyer NO HATE Act. These legislative
actions help government agencies track and prosecute
hate-fueled acts of violence against people from
marginalized groups and establish State-run hotlines
through which victims can report hate crimes. For the
first time in history, we made lynching a Federal hate
crime through the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. We also
hosted the first-of-its-kind United We Stand Summit--
bringing together civic, faith, philanthropic, and
business leaders to ensure that hate has no safe harbor
in America.
I also signed a historic Executive Order to advance
effective and accountable community policing and
strengthen trust between law enforcement and the
communities they serve. My Administration provided
States billions of dollars to purchase body-worn
cameras, reduce court backlogs, and support crime
victims. We are investing in more crisis responders who
are able to de-escalate situations and respond to non-
violent crimes. In addition, we are hiring more Federal
prosecutors so justice for victims is not delayed,
recruiting more United States Marshals to apprehend
violent fugitives, and investing in better technology
and training to clear court backlogs and solve murders.
This National Crime Victims' Rights Week, as each of us
asks, ``How should I help?'' let us recommit to doing
all we can to prevent crime and violence, support
victims and help them secure the justice and healing
they deserve, and make our Nation safer and more secure
for all Americans. For more information on the rights
of crime victims, visit <a href="http://Crimevictims.gov">Crimevictims.gov</a>.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 21
through April 27, 2024, as National Crime Victims'
Rights Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this
week by participating in events that raise awareness of
victims' rights and services and by volunteering to
serve and support victims in their time of need.
[[Page 31069]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-08908
Filed 4-23-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 24, 2024.
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