About CVAC

About Us / History

Assisting victims of crime is important to the people of Fresno County. In 1975 under Chief Probation Officer James Rowland, the Crime Victim Assistance Center (CVAC) was formally established through a state grant; the Fresno County Probation Department became the first Probation Department in California to establish such a Center. A year later, recognizing that victims needed a voice in court, James Rowland created the first Victim Impact Statement to provide the judiciary with an objective inventory of victim injuries and losses at sentencing. Today the right to give a victim impact statement is protected by the California State Constitution.

Focus

The goal of the Fresno County Probation Department’s Crime Victim Assistance Center is to provide comprehensive services to victims and witnesses of all crimes, thereby reducing the trauma and insensitive treatment that they may experience as a result of their victimization.