After the suspect is arrested and the evidence is collected, there is still a long and complicated journey ahead for the victims of crimes. The legal process can be difficult and confusing, and being a victim can come with psychological, physical, and economic concerns that need to be addressed for full recovery. The two victim advocates at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) are here to help guide victims so they can move ahead with their lives. During National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (April 6-11) and all year we honor our advocates for the vital work they do. The theme this year is kinship, and no one exemplifies the idea that a victim should never walk alone better than PCSO’s victim advocates.

“We provide a continuum of service,” said victim advocate Sandra Garcia-Olivares. Once they connect with a victim, they can be involved with them for several years as their case works its way through court. But PCSO’s victim advocates do far more than simply guide victims through the legal process. They go above and beyond to provide support of all kinds. On a recent night Garcia-Olivares was on the phone long after hours with a mom who just found out her husband had been molesting their daughter. “You become their social worker, their friend, their counselor, all wrapped into one. I treat people the way I would want my family to be treated if anything ever happened to them. I believe in making a personal connection.”

Sometimes, a victim declines their help, and they close the case, but the advocates are always ready to open it back up again if the victim changes their mind. In domestic violence cases, it is common for the victim to decide not to prosecute, or to return to their abuser. “We’re not here to convince them. Our role is to spend time talking with them about the dynamics.” They may not want to prosecute now, but she’ll encourage them to remember that they called 911 for a reason: because they were in fear. She’ll encourage them to look hard at the relationship, and consider getting services from a domestic violence shelter. “With domestic violence victims it can take seven or eight times before they leave.”

Victim advocates touch many lives, and can be a big part in people’s recovery after a crime. “We can have long term relationships with people, develop a rapport. We’ve been invited to weddings and baby showers.” Though she doesn’t usually blur that professional line, she did advocate for a child victim who grew up and joined the military, and went to her graduation. “I was so proud of what she was able to overcome and accomplish and wanted to show my support.” One child whose mother was a homicide victim went through bad times in her teen years, but then got her act together and applied to college. She asked Garcia-Olivares to write a letter to the college on her behalf. “I wanted them to understand her struggles and how far she’s come, and give her a chance. The college said it was the most heartfelt letter they’d ever received.” People will call her with updates and send her letters and Christmas cards, thanking her for being there when they needed someone. “They did the work,” she said. “I just helped guide them.”

Their job spans all kinds of advocacy. After our two line of duty deaths, victim advocates helped the families of the deceased deputies. There’s an agency victim advocate fund supported by Elisa’s Greatest Wishes that is used to help in a variety of ways that most people would never think of. What if a child’s bedding or clothing has to be taken away by forensics as evidence, and they don’t have any spares? What if locks need to be changed so an abuser can’t come back, but the victim can’t afford a locksmith? What if a victim needs a safe place to stay during an ongoing investigation? Sometimes the abuser is also the primary breadwinner, and when they are arrested their income is gone and the victim is left in dire straits. Victim advocates can find ways to help with those things.

Victim advocates go through the Attorney General Victim Services Designation training and then must renew their designation every three years with additional training. Garcia-Olivares is also a crisis responder who has helped victims in the aftermath of hurricanes and the Pulse nightclub shooting. Her degree is in psychology and counseling services. Before moving to Florida more than 25 years ago and becoming a law enforcement advocate, she was an advocate for a State Attorney Office and provided therapy to domestic and sexual violence survivors.

As compassionate as they are, a good victim advocate needs to compartmentalize, and to put each case behind them when they are done so they can move on to the next. All the same, there are some cases that will always stick with her. She acutely remembers her first homicide, and her first death notification. “Death notification is part of your training, but there’s no training in the world that truly prepares you to make your first death notification to a child.”

“We get to be the softer side of the agency,” Garcia-Olivares said. “I always tell people, everyone has their role, their niche. A deputy can be compassionate, but they aren’t there to hold your hand. Their role is to make sure you’re safe, collect the information, solve the crime. Then we come in. It’s like passing a baton.” She encourages deputies to reach out to her or the agency’s other victim advocate Bobbie Hodson for anything. “If you don’t know if we can help, call and ask. Recently a deputy encountered a homeless family, and we brainstormed ways we could help. We can’t always fix a problem, but we can at least try to come up with some ideas and solutions.”

Victim advocates also get to be involved in some more light-hearted ways to serve people’s needs. She is deeply involved in the annual PCSO fundraiser Ride and Run with the Stars, and the Christmas Sharing Project that buys holiday gifts for children in need. They also gather and distribute school supplies each year.

“We are such a unique county,” Garcia-Olivares said. “We have so many resources for victims.” PCSO was at the forefront when advocacy began. Now, most other agencies have victim advocates too, and those that don’t can use advocates from the State Attorney’s Office, the Suncoast Center, or domestic violence shelters like CASA or The Haven at Hope Villages. Everyone in the county has access, and in a pinch they can share responsibilities. “If neither Bobbie nor I are available to go to court with our victim we can call one of our fellow advocates in partner agencies to accompany them. We all work together and help each other.”

Our victim advocates have dedicated themselves to helping people who have been through terrible things. “If you don’t know what I do, count it as a blessing, because that means that you’ve been very fortunate.” But they are happy to know they’re making a difference. “We’re here because we love what we do.”

In your daily communication, phone calls are probably a thing of the past, largely replaced by texting. The one number that people still reliably call is 911. But did you know that you can also text to 911? It has been around for a few years now, but a lot of people don’t know about the option to text to 911. It might not always be the best option, but there are times when it can be a lifesaver.

“If you can call us, call us,” said Regional 911 Division Director Judith Weshinskey-Price. “That’s the preferred way. Calling is immediate interactive communication – it goes a lot faster and we can get more accurate information. But if you can’t call, we can take a text.” The same people who answer 911 calls respond to the texts.

Texting lets people contact 911 even when they are in a situation where making any noise or drawing attention to themselves can put them in danger. Someone who hears a home invader downstairs and is hiding in a closet or locked in a bathroom can text instead of calling so they don’t alert the suspect of their whereabouts. They’ve gotten calls from children hiding in their room while their parents are fighting. “Texting gave them a way to let us know they needed help in a manner that let them stay safe and hidden and feel secure.” They’ll remind anyone texting 911 under those circumstances to silence their alerts.

“It’s also a good way for the deaf and hard of hearing to communicate with us,” Weshinskey-Price said. “We’ve done a lot of public education with the deaf and hard of hearing community and let them try out dialing 911 so they can see how the system works and see that it supports them.”

Texts are also valuable when we have storms, which might cause issues with cell phones. “Texts take up a lot less network space than a voice call. A lot of times if a call won’t go through because the system is overwhelmed or there are issues, you can still get a text through.”

People get the same level of service whether they’re texting or calling. “We try to obtain the same information and give you the same results,” Weshinskey-Price said. Texting is slower than speech, but 911 operators combat that by preparing a lot of the most common questions and answers ahead of time. “There are a lot of questions that we ask every caller, so we have them pre-programmed into the software with a dropdown to click and send that question or message.” Texting also makes it more likely that a typo or autocorrect error will change the meaning of the incident. If you mean to text he is in the house but it autocorrects to he isn’t in the house it’s a significant difference. Anyone texting to 911 should try to check what they are sending.

The most important thing a 911 operator must determine the caller’s location. Even if they can’t get any other information, our county’s fast response time means that someone will find out what is going on very quickly one way or another. When someone calls 911, their location can be pinpointed quickly and accurately. When someone texts 911 though, they get some information about their location but it can be less accurate than a phone call. If someone texts and it doesn’t seem to be a situation where talking would put them at risk, the operator will ask them if they are able to call instead. 

In the next issue of Inside the Star, learn about an even newer innovation: the Video to 911 app.