Parallel Justice for Victims of Crime

This year more than 20 million Americans will become victims of crime. Very few will get the help they need to get their lives back on track. Parallel Justice for Victims of Crime presents a new approach, designed to help victims rebuild their lives now being piloted from Vermont to California by police chiefs, prosecutors, corrections officials, victim advocates and community leaders.
Drawing on more than 30 years of criminal justice experience, including almost 8 years as executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, author Susan Herman explains why justice for all requires more than holding offenders accountable it means addressing victims three basic needs: to be safe, to recover from the trauma of the crime, and regain control of their lives.
With guiding principles and practical examples of how to respond to victims of any kind of crime, Parallel Justice for Victims of Crime provides a road-map for everyone who wants to pursue this new vision of justice.

Susan Herman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Pace University. From 1997 to 2004, she served as the Executive Director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, the nation's leading resource and advocacy organization for crime victims. With more than 25 years of leadership experience in government, criminal justice, and social services, Ms. Herman is an internationally recognized spokesperson for victims of crime and a new vision of justice for victims, parallel justice.

Previously, Ms. Herman served as Director of Community Services at The Enterprise Foundation, Director of the Domestic Violence Division of Victim Services (now Safe Horizon) in New York City, Special Counsel to the Police Commissioner of New York City, Director of Mediation Services at the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, as an attorney at the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, and as an instructor at New York University's School of Law and NYU's Wagner School of Public Service. Ms. Herman is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and the Antioch School of Law.