Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance (VIVA)
New Jersey is responding to the crisis of violence that has emerged in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic through an innovative approach to public safety. In September 2022, through an administrative directive, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin created the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance (VIVA) within the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety (LPS). In October 2023, Acting Governor Tahesha Way signed A-4978/S-3086 into law, codifying VIVA within the Department of Law and Public Safety.
VIVA advances a unified strategy for public safety by bringing together victim services – including victims of domestic violence and sexual assault – and the Department’s violence intervention and prevention programming. Having previously been dispersed throughout the Department, VIVA centralizes under one roof services that were previously dispersed throughout LPS and provides staffing to support the programs statewide.
The creation of VIVA marked a transformational step in how New Jersey approaches public safety by, among other things:
- promoting a trauma-informed approach to victim assistance and violence intervention services;
- expanding the scope of the victim population served by LPS;
- developing infrastructure to support violence intervention and prevention services and for victim assistance;
- serving as a resource center and hub for technical assistance and training;
- supporting initiatives pairing victim assistance and violence intervention and prevention service providers with law enforcement entities by coordinating among them and helping to build partnerships between them;
- providing a structure and outlet for community stakeholders to provider input to improve services; and
- supporting policies and practices that recognize the important of cultural competency of those providing victim assistance and violence intervention services.
