Dom Costa: Crime victims deserve more rights

Nobody plans to be a victim of crime.

As a 27-year veteran of the Pittsburgh Police department and former chief of police, I’ve seen this firsthand.

I’ve sat with women who have been abused and mothers who have lost children, and I’ve seen the terror in their eyes. I know that they look to “us” — law enforcement and government — to protect them.

But right now in Pennsylvania, crime victims’ rights aren’t protected.

Pennsylvania is one of only 15 states that do not have enforceable rights for victims of crime. Our state Constitution doesn’t even mention victims’ rights. However, we are close to changing this.

Currently in Pennsylvania, we have statutory rights for crime victims. But over the years, we have realized that statutory rights alone are not enough. Without constitutional protections, victims can be completely forgotten or removed from the criminal justice process without any recourse.

Imagine that you have been a victim of a crime. Wouldn’t you want to be informed of court proceedings? Shouldn’t you be allowed to give a victim impact statement at sentencing? Wouldn’t you want to know if your perpetrator was released from prison?

Crime victims have already endured enough suffering at the hands of another. It is our duty to protect them and ensure that they aren’t forgotten.

Over the past few years, there has been a bipartisan effort to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to include rights for crime victims. In 2018, as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, I was honored to vote for Marsy’s Law, also known as Pennsylvania’s Crime Victim Rights Amendment.

The Marsy’s Law effort was widely supported in the state House and Senate. The measure passed nearly unanimously in two consecutive legislative sessions (485-8) before qualifying to appear as a statewide referendum on the November 2019 ballot.

Pennsylvania voters also overwhelmingly supported amending our Constitution and approved Marsy’s Law by a remarkable 74%. The amendment was so popular that it only saw a 4% drop off from the top of the ticket, whereas other recent statewide referendums saw a 15% dropoff or more.

But instead of celebrating the fact that we are now fully supporting and protecting our crime victims, Pennsylvania is now unfortunately in legal purgatory. Our state attorney general is currently fighting off a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, which is stalling the implementation of these rights.

This lawsuit is the only thing standing in the way of doing what is right for victims. Haven’t crime victims suffered enough?

It is law enforcement’s job is to seek out justice. Officers put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve — ultimately trying to prevent more victims. But we can only do so much.

Without these constitutional rights, crime victims can be forgotten and revictimized by a system that is supposed to protect them. It is my hope that Pennsylvania can quickly move forward and provide crime victims the rights they deserve through the Crime Victim Rights Amendment.

Dom Costa served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2008-18. He was a police officer for the City of Pittsburgh from 1979-2005 and was chief in 2006. He served as director of public safety for Penn Hills in 2005.