The Louisiana Victim Outreach Program provides support and information to victims in a timely and respectful manner.
Victims and other persons directly affected by the criminal actions of an individual under the Department’s authority are encouraged to register with the Louisiana Victim Outreach Program (LAVO) in order to be notified of the following events:
Other assistance available for victims and their families includes:
Please note: Current law enables victims of adjudicated juveniles to register when the juvenile is placed in secure institutional care. For information on that possibility, victims should contact the Office of Juvenile Justice at 225.287.7900. Victim access to information about their rights appear in the Louisiana Statutory Criminal Law and Procedure (R.S. 1841 – 1846).
Board of Pardons & Committee on Parole hearings are always open to the public, and victims/survivors have the right to attend and testify and are encouraged to do so. The staff present at the hearings make every effort to ensure all parties are comfortable, seating those with opposing views separately and allowing them to leave at different times.
The law requires that written notice of both pardon and parole hearings be mailed to victims at least ninety days prior to the hearing date. If victims do not receive proper notice, they can request to have the hearing rescheduled.
The law also states that victims can testify before the Board of Pardons & Committee on Parole by phone from the local district attorney’s office. Arrangements must be made in advance. Victims can contact the relevant board or their district attorney’s office to arrange this.
Both pardon and parole dockets, as well as their outcomes, are posted on the Department’s website.
View Schedules & DocketsPardon Board Hearings
The five-member Pardon Board conducts all of its hearings at the Board’s hearing room located at the Department of Corrections’ headquarters in Baton Rouge. The address is 504 Mayflower Street, and guests should check in with security staff upon arrival.
Applicants who are incarcerated are not transported to meet the Pardon Board. Individuals opposing the incarcerated applicant are only allowed to testify either from the Board’s hearing room in Baton Rouge or via Zoom, not from the facility where the incarcerated person is held. Supporters of applicants who are incarcerated may testify from the Board’s hearing room in Baton Rouge, the facility where the applicant is located, or via Zoom.
Parole Hearings
The three-member panel, occasionally a five-member panel, also holds its hearings at DOC headquarters. Guests are advised to check in with security staff upon arrival.
Incarcerated individuals are not transported to meet the parole panel. Victims opposing an individual’s parole release can participate via Zoom or at DOC headquarters. Supporters of incarcerated individuals are encouraged to attend the hearing where the individual is housed.
Download Victim HandbookSubmitting a victim impact statement is a voluntary right for crime victims. The purpose of the victim impact statement is to give board members the opportunity to see how the crime has affected you, your family, and those close to you.
Submit DigitallyIf you choose not to submit digitally, please use the fillable forms below:
Clemency Victim Impact Form
Parole Victim Impact Form
Our Mission
The mission of the Louisiana Victim Outreach Program and agency staff who interact directly with victims of crime and their families is to mitigate the negative experience of victimization. Toward this end, we pledge the following:
For information, or assistance, please contact Louisiana Victim Outreach Program Director Gail Guerin at (225) 342-1056, or toll free at 1-888-342-6110, or via email at gail.guerin@la.gov.
Our History
The Crime Victims Services Bureau (CVSB) was established in 1993 as a single point of contact for victim registration and information about victim issues and related legal, policy, and program matters.
In November 1993, the Crime Victims Services Bureau (CVSB) was established at Headquarters to offer crime victims easy access to information and registration. In 1995 basic bureau functions including registration, notification, and information were added to law, and the Children’s Code was amended to include rights for victims of certain felony-grade delinquent acts. In 1997 the CVSB established a toll-free telephone number (888) 342-6110.
The Division of Probation and Parole boasts the Department’s longest history of direct service to crime victims. A basic duty of probation and parole officers has always been to interview victims in order to make their experiences and losses part of the pre-sentence, pre-parole, and other reports prepared for decision makers. Officers help the courts and the Board of Pardons and Parole set restitution and manage its payment by people under community supervision, notify victims when imprisoned people are being scheduled for parole hearings, and inform victims about registering for notification.
In the early 1990s, based on stringent new sex offender reporting requirements, the Office of Adult Services put in place mechanisms to identify and notify victims regarding the release of sex offenders whose victims were under age 18 at the time of the crime. This capability provided a base for the current, much broader program of automated victim notification letters.
Louisiana Victim Outreach recognizes that victims must not be forgotten and we must work with all agencies in the Criminal Justice field to make a positive difference in the lives of crime victims, by affording them meaningful participation throughout the state of Louisiana’s corrections process.
Victim-Offender Dialogue (VOD) is a cautious process of preparation leading toward the possibility of a face-to-face meeting between a crime victim/survivor and the person who committed the crime. The program was created in response to recurring requests from victims to talk directly with the people who had harmed them. It is designed to be a safe way for victims and the people who harmed them to prepare for and have such a meeting.
Victim-Offender Dialogue is:
Additional Considerations
We provide several voluntary speaking opportunities to crime victims and survivors that can support the healing process.
View printable brochure of the Victim Impact and Guest Speaker Program.
Why Victims Participate
As a crime victim or survivor, speaking can empower you and give a voice to your experiences.
Offenders, probationers, and parolees gain more from a guest speaker than they are able to through reading, discussing, or watching videos. Hearing from a crime victim or survivor who took the time to come to the class to speak reaches them in a way other methods simply cannot.
Victims and survivors offer a personal and real education. Many inmates, probationers, and parolees have not considered the full impact of their actions.
Speaking Opportunities
If you are interested in participating in any of the speaking opportunities below, please contact our staff to apply.
Victim Impact Program
This program needs victim and survivor voices to help inmates, probationers, and parolees understand the “ripple effect” of their crimes on victims, survivors, and the community. The goal is to make them more aware of the consequences of their crimes and encourage greater accountability for their actions.
The program focuses on the four major impact areas of crime: physical, emotional, financial, and religious/spiritual. Some speakers find it helpful to use this framework to discuss the many ways the crime has affected their lives.
If you want to speak but are not sure where to start, our team can help you. Please contact Louisiana Victim Outreach at (225) 342-1056.
For more information about this program, please visit the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center’s website.
In 1999 the Legislature appropriated money to provide an automated telephone system to keep crime victims informed of key events in the movement of the person who harmed them through the justice system (e.g., arrest, bail, court hearings, sentencing, incarceration and release). The massive undertaking is managed by the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice (LCLE), with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections as one of a number of participating agencies.
The automated system is called by its acronym, LAVNS. For victims registered through Louisiana Victim Outreach, LAVNS will eventually offer telephone notification of key events. In this way LAVNS will serve as a back up to the original system of notification letters.
Presently, LAVNS offers everyone access to a state imprisoned person’s location by Internet [www.vinelink.com] and a 24-hour, toll-free telephone number: (866) 528-6748.
Registering locally with LAVNS is NOT the same as registering with the Louisiana Victim Outreach Program. Presently, you must register with Louisiana Victim Outreach in order to receive notice of a state imprisoned person’s projected release dates, actual release, and other actions noted here.
