WTC Records Folder 0128 Disaster Information General label, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Responding to Terrorism Victims - Oklahoma City and Beyond Page 5 of 7

who worked in nearby office buildings; taxi and bus drivers who were in the area when the bombing occurred; and many others who were exposed to the event and to the traumatic aftereffects. Over time, investigators, prosecutors, victim services personnel, and others who worked closely with the details of the criminal case or with the surviving victims and victim families also became significantly affected. While core services should be provided to the federally defined victims, the Oklahoma City experience has shown that many other victims are in need of service, and more limited assistance could be made available to them.

Responding to the magnitude of the Oklahoma City bombing case and the complex difficulties faced by its victims, the U.S. Attorney's Office met victims' needs by exceeding the requirements of federal law and the 1995 U.S. Attorney General Guidelinesfor Victim and Witness Assistance (AG Guidelines). Operating under the AG Guidelines, the U.S. Attorney's Office identified victims and created a database of victim contact information. Some agencies refused to supply contact information for clients (victims), citing organizational policies of nondisclosure. Underlying most agencies' unwillingness to share client (victim) information was the fear that the identifying information might be used by criminal justice agencies for purposes beyond victim notification. The U.S. Attorney's Office had to rely on obituaries in the local newspapers and information from FEMA and other sources to identify victims and survivors, a process that the staff found to be a frustrating and unnecessary obstacle in implementing victim services. (See Privacy Act discussion under chapter VI, "Legal Issues Pertaining to Victims of Terrorism.") The U.S. Attorney's Office provided victims' rights and services through its Victim-Witness Assistance Unit and through the appointment of an Attorney Liaison.

Identification and Notification of Victims

Beyond the need to identify who the deceased victims were for the sake of their families, there also was the need to identify surviving victims and family members of the deceased to provide them with information and services. This need made it essential for agencies to exchange information about their clients, otherwise some victims would receive duplicated services and others would received none at all. The International Business Machine (IBM) Corporation donated electronic equipment, software, and training to create and manage a database of services provided to individual victims. The victim database eventually included approximately 3,000 family members and survivors that victim-witness coordinators and others involved with distributing victim services could use and update. When this new computer system was installed, agencies belonging to the Resource Coordination Committee entered information into the system regarding types and amount of services provided to individual victims. Unfortunately, due to confidentiality concerns, many victim-serving agencies did not enter into the system information about the names of their clients (victims), the amount of

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/respterrorism/chap3.html 9/29/01

NYC-WTC 000137323