VICTIM INFORMATION
The Board of Pardons and Paroles is committed to accommodating the needs of members of the public, including crime victims attending or participating in hearings, who have disabilities.
If you have a disability and would like accommodation, please contact us at ct.bpp@ct.gov
Victim Advocates
Nina Vazquez - tel:203-805-6572 (nina.vazquez@jud.ct.gov)
Office of Victim Services (OVS) advocates provide support and services to victims during the parole or pardon process.
CLICK HERE to view the CT Constitutional Rights of Crime Victims
The Office of the Victim Advocate (OVA) is another state agency responsible for addressing the needs of crime victims. For more information regarding the office of Victim Advocate (OVA), please visit:
Victim Notification Registration
You may register as a victim with both the Office of Victim Services (OVS) and the Department of Correction Victim Services Unit (DOC-VSU), and with CT-SAVIN.
You may register as a victim with both the Office of Victim Services (OVS) and the Department of Correction Victim Services Unit (DOC-VSU), and with CT-SAVIN.
Office of Victim Services operates a Post Conviction Notification Program, which offers information about changes in the status of the convicted inmates. This may include the dates and locations of: Parole Hearings, Sentence Reviews, Sentence Modifications, Discharge from Corrections Institution, Parole release, Halfway House release, Transitional Supervision release and Pardon Hearings. The post conviction notification program does not provide information regarding furloughs, non convicted persons, or convicted persons sent to state hospital for mental illness. Registration is confidential.
CT SAVIN provides confidential notification in English, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish on criminal court cases for an offender, changes to an offender’s custody status with the Department of Correction, and when a court order of protection is issued, changed, or ends. Additional information and registration options can be found at VINELink - Connecticut (vineapps.com).
Victims use the information they receive from victim notification to exercise their rights under the Connecticut Constitution. Some victims also use this information to create a safety plan, if the offender is going to be released from prison or if an order of protection changed or ended.
Victim Input
Since not all persons registered to be notified of the events associated with an offender’s sentence are direct victims of the offender’s crime, the Board uses the definition of “victim” found in the Connecticut General Statues section 54-126a(a).
Should you have any questions regarding your status, please contact one of the staff members listed above.
The victim and members of his or her family or support system may attend the hearing of the Board of Paroles or the Board of Pardons and provide testimony for the record. In lieu of live testimony before a Board panel, victims may submit a written statement. Victim statements are not confidential and may be disclosed if a request is made to the Board under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Requests by the victim, legal representative of the victim, or any member of a deceased victim’s family to address a Board panel or submit a written statement should be made through a Victim Advocate in the Board’s Victim Services Unit (VSU)
Victim Impact Statement
Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes section 54-126a and 54-130d, a victim’s verbal testimony or written statement to the Board for inclusion in a parole or pardon applicant’s file are a part of public record. The Board of Pardons and Paroles may be required to release a victim statement to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which could come from the public, including an inmate or the media.
Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes section 54-126a and 54-130d, a victim’s verbal testimony or written statement to the Board for inclusion in a parole or pardon applicant’s file are a part of public record. The Board of Pardons and Paroles may be required to release a victim statement to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which could come from the public, including an inmate or the media.
There are no limitations on the length of the statement provided to the board, nor are statements edited for length or content.
Written statements should be provided prior to the date of the hearing so the Victim Advocates can present it the board for review and consideration.
Statements previously provided for court proceedings or to other agencies are acceptable.
Live testimony or statements must address:
- Whether the inmate should be released on parole or the nature of any conditions to be imposed upon any such release
- whether an offender should be granted a pardon and the reason(s) for the victim’s support or objection to such a pardon.
In preparing testimony or statement, consider the following:
- In what ways does the crime continue to affect you and your family? Be specific in your description.
- For the parent of a child victim—how has the offense affected your child’s emotional and physical well-being? How is your child doing (academically, socially) as a result?
- Do you or your family members require or continue to receive medical services as a result of the crime?
- Has the offender (or their family or friends) attempted or made contact with you in any way? If so, how did you feel about the contact? What, if any, problems or resolutions resulted? Describe.
- For victims of inmates eligible for parole, do you have any specific fears regarding the possibility of this offender coming back into the community? If so, what are they? Do you have recommendations/suggestions for special conditions of release if paroled?
Is there any additional information that you feel would be helpful to the Board in making its decision?