Travis County Sheriff’s Office Victim Services Division Volunteer Program

Looking for an exciting and highly rewarding volunteer opportunity?

The Victim Services Division provides on-scene crisis intervention to victims in Travis County. The Division consists of 7 staff and a volunteer base of 50-60 volunteers, who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to meet the needs of victims. We work alongside deputies, detectives, and crime scene investigators immediately after a victim is involved in a critical incident.

The Victim Services Division, staff and volunteers, assisted over 4,000 victims of crime and non-crime incidents in 2004. Examples of calls responded to are:

• Family Violence
• Natural Deceased
• Structure Fires
• Homicide
• Child/Elder Abuse
• Sexual Assault
• Drownings
• Missing Persons
• Suicides

Types of Services We Provide

• Crisis Counseling
• Information/Referrals to Outside Agencies
• Protective Orders
• Emergency Legal Advocacy
• Crime Victim Compensation Information
• Personal Advocacy
• Safe Shelters
• Emergency Transportation
• Accompanying Victims to Hospitals

It is our goal to continue to provide crisis counseling immediately after a traumatic event. We are a small staff, and as a result, we rely heavily on our community volunteers to help victims in their time of need.

Our Victim Services volunteers are provided 20 hours of basic training, which consists of victimology, crisis intervention counseling, dispatch procedures and providing death notifications. Volunteers will also receive training on how to assist during major crime investigations, mass disasters, SWAT call-outs and crime scene procedures.

How to Become a Volunteer

• Must be 21 years of age or older
• Must submit to a computerized criminal history check (CCH) and have no Class B Misdemeanor or felony convictions
• Must have reliable transportation and be willing to use personal vehicle for call-outs
• Must be able to give a 1 year commitment to the program, with a minimum of 16 hours per month (preferably more)
• Must complete 2 patrol ride-outs

If you are interested in becoming a Victim Services volunteer, you must complete a volunteer application form. You can access the application on the Travis County Sheriff’s Office website – www.tcsheriff.org – click on Law Enforcement – Victim Services- Volunteer Application. You may also call 854-9709 and request an application be mailed to you, either via regular mail or email. You may mail the completed application to:

Travis County Sheriff’s Office
Victim Services Division
P.O. Box 1748
Austin , TX 78767