There\u2019s no doubt that over the past 10 years, sexual-related crimes have grown two-fold. But here in Blair County, two county offices have been working together to combat the problem, and recently, was recognized for their efforts.
\nBlair County District Attorney Dave Gorman and Victim\/Witness Coordinator Sue Griep traveled to Harrisburg recently to receive the Pennsylvania\u2019s Coalition Against Rape\u2019s Annual Outstanding Service award for assistance and support to victims of sexual assault.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be recognized for a teamwork effort,\u201d said Griep. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working hard to curb this problem, and with both offices chipping at it, I feel we\u2019re making progress.\u201d
\nGriep is a native of Tyrone, and a 1976 graduate of Tyrone Area High School. She is the daughter of Adelen Price of Tyrone and the late W. Paul Price, former editor of The Daily Herald.
\nGriep\u2019s first position in a victim\/witness capacity came as coordinator of the Clearfield County office. She now heads a staff of four, full-time employees and two part-timers in Blair County.
\nDuring PCAR\u2019s annual awards luncheon, Gorman and Griep were presented the award from PCAR Director Delilah Rumberg in coordination with Anna Fleck of Family Services of Blair County. Family Services of Blair County nominated the two offices for the statewide award in the law enforcement category.
\nGorman echoed Griep\u2019s comments.
\n\u201cI consider this award a great honor,\u201d said Gorman. \u201cIt recognizes the teamwork and dedication among agencies in our county to assist sexual assault victims. The DA\u2019s Office works closely with Victim\/Witness, Family Services, law enforcement and local hospitals in order to alleviate some of the trepidation associated with reporting, evidence collecting and interview.
\n\u201cWith everyone working together, it provides a great support and assistance system for a victim and their family at such a difficult time.\u201d
\nThe nomination petition cites that the District Attorney\u2019s Office and Victim\/Witness Office \u201chas accomplished several milestones in the effort to assist and empower victims of sexual assault and sexual abuse.\u201d
\nThe petition states that District Attorney Gorman\u2019s innovativeness to respond to violence against women and children resulted in the creation of a child abuse unit in the DA\u2019s office.
\nThis meant that a specific DA was hired and designated to prosecute perpetrators of all kinds.
\n\u201cThe DA\u2019s Office recognized the emotional benefit to have one designated attorney with whom the victim could build a trusting relationship from the beginning to end of the process,\u201d the nomination read.
\nThis process also meant that the special prosecutor remains on call every day of the year to immediately respond to sexual abuse cases and is \u201coften at the hospital in the middle of the night alongside police, and victim advocates to assure appropriate evidence gathering and to begin a rapport with the victim.\u201d
\nAnother area highlighted in the nomination was the DA\u2019s Office involvement in establishing a SAFE program in Blair County.
\nThis means that the DA\u2019s office has worked on a protocol for handling sexual assault cases to be used by hospitals, victim services, law enforcement and ADAs.
\nIn addition, the nomination states that the Victim\/Witness Program has worked tirelessly the past three years to develop and implement service protocol to better acquaint victims with policies and procedures in the court proceedings, helping to ease any uncomfortability associated with an unfamiliar criminal justice system.
\n\u201cThe Victim\/Witnes office personnel have been known to go above and beyond the call of duty for sexual assault victims,\u201d the nomination read.
\nBecause of the cooperatives efforts of the DA\u2019s Office and Victim\/Witness Program, \u201cit is the victims who have benefited,\u201d the nomination concluded.
\n\u201cIn sexual assault cases, it is important to work together,\u201d said Griep. \u201cVictims are going through so many different types of emotions as well as becomming quickly involved in the criminal justice system. Anything we can do to alleviate their fears and work together with other agencies, makes it an easier road for victims.\u201d
\nGriep said she hopes the award brings more awareness to the Victim\/Witness Program and also shows victims that it\u2019s okay to seek the office when they need help.
\n\u201cMaybe the sexual assault victims will see this program and that it really does work, making it easier to come forward,\u201d said Griep.
\nFor more information, contact the District Attorney\u2019s Office or Victim\/Witness Program 693-3010 or 693-3018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s no doubt that over the past 10 years, sexual-related crimes have grown two-fold. But here in Blair County, two county offices have been working together to combat the problem, and recently, was recognized for their efforts. Blair County District Attorney Dave Gorman and Victim\/Witness Coordinator Sue Griep traveled to Harrisburg recently to receive the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44908\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}