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Illicit drugs - common

Illicit drugs - rarer

Medicines - methadone

Alcohol & benzo tranquilisers

Road Victim Rights

Land Transport Act - seeking safer laws

Terrible truths

The following are just some experiences of Candor/Kiwi people

1) A relatives drugged killer was not blood tested so likely they got away with reducing their culpability

2) A cop told a wheelchair bound DUI victim who complained about lack of reparation payments for her car to "think of the (recidivist) offender and all he lost - he lost a $20,000 car".

3) A family only discovered their relatives killer was on drugs a year after the killing, and this only by requesting the Coroner test the blood taken for alcohol tests. The killer had meanwhile sauntered through the Courts gaining only a short community service sentence.

Useful Links

Bloody Idiots!

Acceptance of this "excuse" by the general Public is partly why our vehicularly armed killers now ave the lightest penalties in the world.

Surprising other violent offenders haven't seen the potential in this way of spinning it yet.

*555 calls ? save lives

NZ BADD (Bikers Against Drunk Driving) has a charter is to promote calls to star 555.

A Candor member (18) was near killed and two were seriously injured by a Canterbury drug driver after several 111 calls by a following motorist weren't answered.

We believe BADD has made an important call, one that should be supported by far more "loose" patrols targeting visible violations.

VICTIM AND CO-VICTIM RIGHTS

To be informed of a death by a trained person, and given immediate access to the deceased's body

Compulsory blood alcohol and drug samples to be obtained from culpable drivers causing damages

That investigations and prosecutions are of the same quality and importance as with any other homicide

To have legal proceedings and penalties enacted that reflect the gravity and impact of offending

To be kept up to date by Police of developments in the case and told of input and appeal rights

To receive realistic info about legal processes and to be considered by Justice system

To have victim impact reports that do not gloss over the fact that the majority of violent crash victims and bereaveds' can not plan any future for 3 years and beyond, and most will never restore a quality of life such as they had before

To have a civil lawyer provided to represent victim / family secondary harm interests

To receive realistic compensation from insurers or the State as victims / co-victims facing large initial costs and often reduced long-term earning potential

To have the culprit court ordered to pay medical, legal or other immediate crash related expenses

To receive full timely information about support organisations from more than the initial contacts

To be offered adequate comprehensive support in view that extreme often long term psychological suffering is common and that following 3 years this even typically increases as suicidality and addictions can get a hold per the research.

To have long term impairment and losses of (often late appearing) head injury legally recognised

TRAUMA-GRIEF is often "Complicated Grief"

A large study by the Federation of European Road Victims has shown that surviving families of DUI victims have a long struggle with increased rates of illness, and worryingly of suicide for at least 5 years. Homicide has long term ripple effects.

Specialist Traditional Counseling is often effective and may be beneficial after overwhealmingly traumatic loss or losses, where homicide has featured.Traditional counselling techniques can be contra-indicated, and victims seeking help should use caution.

http://www.webhealth.co.nz/page/central_3.php has excellent counsellor tips and a search engine (N. Island only as yet).

- Treatment of hard to shake trauma grief is eclectic (US Mental Health Service has a guide to assure trauma treatment quality). Recovery to some reasonable level of functioning can be helped by several methods but the leading one perhaps is "telling the trauma story" safely. To therapist / on tape / in a journal or art.

Or remembering it piece by piece in manageable chunks without disclosure for privacy – therapist support if any should aim to soothes & dis-empowers any negative memories.

In "revisiting" key traumas like events around loss / court etc the traumatised can learn to manage reactions so minimising obstructions to the natural grief process. As progress with capacity to face trauma inducing memories around the "event/s" increases, the focus of therapy ought move to enabling normal grief-work eg acknowledging what has happened, coming to terms with unfinished business & memorialising.

A cognitive Behavioural aspect to therapy should be strong ie. restructuring thoughts to give more positive viewpoints, and this should be followed through in how some-one receiving treatment lives or experience everyday life.

Often "pining" can be reduced by promoting a connection eg. patient is encouraged to have an imagined needed conversation – maybe even answer back (as it’s thought the person would).

Dr's can help by considering referral to free counselling with a Clinical Psychologist when bereavement is complicated. Or by telling patients who could be interested of any other useful free or privately provided services useful for trauma or grief sufferers.

"Retelling Violent death" by Edward K, Md Rynearson is a book that has helped very many and is particularly useful for professionals. It shows another’s experience of finding a way to become "self-soothing" again – an ability often lost with trauma.

"Energy Psychology" Based Treatments are also popular

REMAP, EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EFT Emotional Freedom Technique, TIR Traumatic Incident Reduction, TFT Thought Field Therapy NLP (Quite new therapies these = still "experimental" but techniques are used by traumatologists trained in them at world disaster sites.

Recommended reading for DUI victim contacts;

Alabama Victim Compensation Commission
Link - The Scope Of Homicide

Candor's specific Victim related aims

Making drug driving / drivers and victims visible in a State that uniquely pulls out all stops to hide not expose them.

ACC to cover counseling costs for road homicide co-victims (surviving family)

Same penalties for DUI suspects consenting to blood tests as for those not. Refusals should not save culprits 10G

DUI victims and co-victims to be automatically told of their option to be placed on the serious victims register

Compensation for victims and co-victims that is realistic, or at the least enables pressing needs to be met such as funerals and ability to retain legal representation for Coroners hearings

To have NZ Law Courts recognise that DUI is an offence against the person, incorrectly classified as a victimless traffic offence (Georgia McCarten case example).

Encouraging Government to gather statistics about drink and drug driving victim numbers - killed / injured.

To build a road side memorial to the victims of drink and drug drivers; to honor the voiceless in a large scale disaster and to serve as a sombre reminder of road users shared responsibility.
Via introduction of rehabilitation and realistic penalties to stop the production and recycling of the largest class of killers - homicidal DUI offenders

Aims of Candor Trust

Inform; drug & alcohol dangers
Assist DUI victims - pamphlet sets outlining traumatic loss impacts and ways to cope are sent to DUI victims by request
Advocacy for 1st world 'tolls'
Support measures likely to reduce DUI impacts
Memorial Wall Project

Victim experiences hidden

Media suppression of the cause of relatives deaths, only when drugs are involved. NZ media imply it was alcohol!

eg on 24/12/2007 NZ Herald placed this headline "Plea to ban repeat drink-drivers"....along with the below misleading picture with the words "drink driving stops here"... on a story about the Sensible Sentencing Trusts White Rose Day which is actually for victims of both drink and drug drivers.

Disinterest in the cause of death if it is drink or drug driving from Police investigators if the offender is a "protected species" truck driver

eg a young pedestrian recently run over by a truck at Sockburn Christchurch left behind a family asking "was alcohol or drugs the cause" due to commercial vehicle investigation unit policy of non testing.

Overly full prisons may explain the reluctance to detect DUI homicide, but victims (& rellys) should have and obtain the truth told about their deaths!.

New Coroners Act

families will be kept in the loop
families will be able to appoint a formal representative
There will be protocols for the retention and release of body parts and body samples.
Family members will be allowed to touch, or remain near a body with the coroner's permission but subject to any conditions imposed
In the case of a post mortem, the family may appoint a doctor, a registered nurse, or a funeral director to be present.
inquiry and inquest processes are introduced, including the power for the coroner to appoint independent cultural, medical, legal or other special representatives to provide assistance.
Coroners will be able to inquire into multiple-death incidents.
There will be authority for a Coroner to require the disclosure of information. In the case of non-compliance, a district court judge will have the power to issue a warrant to the police to search for the information

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