Victims Visitors’ Day returns to Columbus for the first time since 2009

Atlanta, GA – The State Board of Pardons and Paroles has scheduled a Victims Visitors’ Day for January 7, 2015, in Columbus, allowing crime victims to meet with the Board. Victims will be able to sit down with a Board Member and discuss the crime, the offender and the offender’s parole status. Information given to the Board on this day will be made a part of the offender’s parole file.

The event is planned in conjunction with the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit's Victim Witness Assistance Program. It will take place at the Columbus Government Center Plaza, 100 Tenth Street, Columbus, Georgia. The Victims Visitors’ Day will begin at 10 a.m.

Victims Visitors’ Day is an event organized by the Department of Corrections and the Parole Board’s Office of Victim Services. The office serves registered crime victims whose offender is a state inmate or under parole supervision. Victims who attend these events are interested in speaking to the Parole Board about the offender’s parole status.

"Connecting with victims in this manner is very important to the Parole Board members and we look forward to meeting with them to hear their information and give them the information they are seeking regarding the offender," stated Parole Board Chairman Terry Barnard. "We have excellent staff in the Office of Victim Services and we encourage crime victims to register with that office so that we can provide them with information regarding the offender that caused them to be a crime victim."

Crime victims are asked to R.S.V.P. with the Office of Victim Services. Victim Services Director Shalandra Robertson says appointments can be pre-scheduled by calling the toll free number at 1-800-593-9474 by January 2nd. Appointments can still be made after this date.

Julia Slater, the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney, is encouraging crime victims to attend and to take advantage of this unique opportunity. “The Victims Visitors’ Day is an event that is all for the crime victim. We appreciate the Parole Board members coming to Columbus to hear directly from victims. It is an important event for victims of crime,” stated Slater.

Robertson says victims can register to receive updates on offenders through the Victim Information Program (V.I.P.). V.I.P. is a 24-hour automated information system providing victims of crime and their families with access to information about their offender. V.I.P. has more than 20,000 registered victims.

For more information on the Parole Board or Victims Visitors’ Days, please visit our website at www.pap.georgia.gov.

           

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