Court Dogs Victoria is an organisation which places specially trained "Trauma Support Dogs" in areas of the legal and justice profession, to soften the ongoing trauma associated with giving evidence in a court room or via video link.
CDV's main activities will be working alongside justice and legal professionals to find the area in which these Facility Trauma Support dogs are most needed to provide support to victims.
Purchasing or breeding of puppies, training to Facility dog Standards (e.g. must pass public access test.)
Placing dogs into approved agencies.
Providing education and training to agencies, (and prospective dog handlers) which are provided a dog. (Policy /procedure)
Follow up assessments on a three month, six month, and yearly basis.
Legal, Justice Professionals, Police SOCIT teams, Social Workers. Child Protection.
People who find themselves in the legal process, required to give evidence after a traumatic event. This includes all violent crimes.
And all those who would benefit from a Facility trauma support dog.
Including immediate family and friends, during conferences.
Youth Justice Organisations (Benefit from training dogs for CDV by youth at risk, or already under justice orders.
There are no such Facility Trauma Support Dog’s working in Australia, within the justice system. A trial has been started at the OPP in Melbourne Victoria with very positive results.