The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has declared April 2025 as Crime Victims’ Rights Awareness Month. The designation aims to support victims, prioritize their rights and raise awareness in the county.
Under the California Constitution, a victim is “a person who suffers direct or threatened physical, psychological, or financial harm as a result of the commission or attempted commission of a crime or delinquent act.” This status extends to victims’ loved ones such as spouses and parents.
District Attorney Dan Dow said even though SLO is smaller than nearby cities, crime is still a serious concern. Last year, his office recorded more than 11,000 misdemeanor and felony cases.
“We have child abuse, we have theft, we have robberies, we have gang crimes– not to the degree of a metropolitan area, thank god– but our community has just about every crime imaginable, and we are proud to work very hard to keep victims at the very forefront of what we do,” Dow said.
Beth Raub with the county’s Victim Witness Assistance Center said victims of these crimes often need a tremendous amount of support.
“Many of them need different kinds of critical services to really begin that healing in their lives,” Raub said. “It really just increases being connected to the access of services and making sure that their rights are honored and making sure they have the information they need to make decisions on those rights.”
SLO County programs to support crime survivors, including the Victim Witness Assistance Center, rely on federal funding. Dow said continued advocacy is key to keeping these resources available.
The District Attorney’s Office is holding a victims’ advocacy event on April 3 at 11 a.m. at the downtown SLO Government Center. It will honor survivors and their families while highlighting available support services.
