Candlelight Vigil for Crime Victims

Let’s start with the  good news. According to the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services crime rates in New York State are decreasing:

"While New York State’s crime rate has decreased over the past 10 years,

New York has also reported a significant reduction in the actual number

of crimes reported. The number of major crimes reported fell each year

since 2000, reaching the lowest levels ever recorded in 2007 before rising

slightly in 2008 and falling again in 2009. There were 135,956 fewer

crimes reported in 2009 than in 2000, while the population of the State

increased by half a million."

The bad news is that there is crime in our community. In Saratoga County the 2009 crime rates per 100,000 residents were:
 75 Violent (murder, rape, robbery)                      
1,238 Property  (burgulary, aggravated assault, vehicle theft)

And while crime rates seem like just a statistic, behind each of these statistics there lives a person or family that has suffered as a result of that crime. From a young mother killed in a car crash caused by a drunk driver, to a family that withstood years of domestic violence, to a child violated and forced from innocence by a sexual predator, to a single person living alone who is afraid in his/her home because it was recently burglarized… these are the people behind each crime statistic.    

Each year during Crime Victims’ Week the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office and the NYS Task Force for Crime Victims’ Rights coordinate a candlelight vigil to provide remembrance, reflection and healing for those whose lives have been shattered by criminal activity. The vigil includes:

Reflections from a Crime Victim Survivor

Presentation of Public Service Awards

Candle lighting Ceremony, and a     

Reception

Please join for the Crime Victims’ Candlelight Vigil us on Sunday April 10, 2011 at 4pm

at the Presbyterian New England Congregational Church

24 Circular Street, Saratoga Springs