As noted Friday in the Billings Gazette, this week begins National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and Marsy’s Law for Montana is proud to be participating in this important effort to highlight the needs of crime victims across our state.

To begin the week, we will be uniting with Attorney General Tim Fox in Great Falls for a crime victim forum in which victims of crime are encouraged to participate. Senior officials from the Department of Justice and local law enforcement agencies will also be in attendance.

This event will be a great way to set the focus and tone for the week ahead. What have victims of crime in Montana experienced in our judicial system? How can we improve and serve them better? To continue addressing these important issues, we will be following up with a second forum in Missoula on April 14th!

Throughout the week, we anticipate cities across our state will be recognizing the importance of Crime Victims’ Rights Week and how vital it is that we all stand up for victims’ rights. In fact, today we are thankful to Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly and the City Commission who have already proclaimed April 10th thru April 16th Crime Victims’ Rights Week in Great Falls.

Every day in our state, another citizen becomes a victim of crime. This year’s theme for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is: “Serving Victims. Building Trust. Restoring Hope.” It is our hope that, throughout this week, we can do our part to serve victims of crime in our state and help Montanans to understand how Marsy’s Law will continue to serve our state all year long.