Crime Victim Services Award

In an effort to focus more national and local attention on law enforcement services provided to victims of crime, NSA annually recognizes a Sheriff ’s Office that has demonstrated outstanding achievement in support of victims with the NSA Crime Victim Services Award. Established in 2005 with funding support from the Office for Victims of Crime, the award has been generously sponsored by Appriss Insights since 2008.

Nominations for the Crime Victim Services Award may be submitted by any individual or organization. The Sheriff of the nominated Office must be an NSA member. Nominations should include a brief overview of the Sheriff ’s Office, and then address the following questions, in addition to any other achievements of the Office that the nominating individual or organization may wish to highlight:

• What accomplishments has the nominated Sheriff ’s Office made on behalf of crime victims and how are those accomplishments innovative and unique?
• How has the nominee’s victim services and/or programs impacted the local citizenry?
• How have the actions of the nominee influenced the policies, practices, and attitudes toward crime victims by its other governmental/non-governmental partner organizations in the community?

The deadline for receipt of nominations for 2024 will be announced in Summer 2023.

To nominate a sheriff’s office for this award, please send a description of the victim services program with an explanation of why the agency is deserving of the award. Nominations should be no more than 10 pages in length including attachments.  E-mail nominations to the attention of Jessica Vanderpool at jessica@sheriffs.org.  For further information, contact Jessica at 703-838-5303.

2022 Crime Victim Services Award Winner

Pennington County (SD) Sheriff's Office, Victim Specialist Program

There is no better candidate for the National Sheriff’s Association Crime Victim Services Award than the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office Victim Specialist Program.

Located in South Dakota, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) sets the standard for a model law enforcement based victim services program: leadership from the top down makes serving crime victims everyone’s job, partnerships within the community provide seamless delivery of services and collaboration fills gaps. The Victim Specialist Program continues to evolve to provide a stronger law enforcement response and more resources for victims.

Read the complete award citation here.

Past Recipients