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provide information, assistance, and support services to the victims of and witnesses to crimes committed in the state." HRS 801 D, more commonly known as the Victims' Bill of Rights, recognized the civil and moral duty of victims and witnesses to cooperate with law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies, and the importance of such cooperation for the general effectiveness and well being of the criminal justice system of this State. HRS 801D also declared the intent bo ensure that all victims and witnesses of crimes are treated with dignity, respect, courtesy and sensitivity, and that the rights are honored and protected in a manner no less vigorous than the protections afforded criminal defendants. Since 1978, the Victim/Witness Assistance Program has been a part of Hawaii County's Prosecutor's Office. The staffprovide a multitude of services to victims, their significant others, and witnesses of crimes to minimize the ofrentimes adverse impact of the criminal justice system. The services include, but are not limited to, notification of case and offender status; court procedure orientation; court accompaniment to provide support; assistance with criminal injuries compensation and property return; assistance with victim input for sentencing, plea agreements, and Parole Board minimum term hearings; transportation; emergency services (food, clothing, shelter, restraining orders); intercession with employers and creditors; referrals; short term and crisis counseling; making travel and other arrangements for returning witnesses; witness coordination to lessen the amount of time spent waiting at court; providing a secure waiting area for witnesses away from defendants; and providing support during interviews of victims of child abuse, domestic violence, sex assault and other sensitive cases. In addition, the unit provides other services to deputies, presentations to community organizations, and training to other agencies. During the last six mouths of 2004, the unit provided services to 2,471 victims and 828 witnesses and others. Of the 16 positions in the unit, three have been unfilled for more than two years because of insufficient finding. One position has been vacant for almost ten years. INVESTIGATIONS UNIT The Investigations Unit consists of seven investigators. Five are county funded, one is funded under the State Career Criminal Prosecution (CCP) grant and one is federally funded by the Community Oriented Prosecution project. The CCP investigator is assigned all cases that involve offenders that qualify as a career criminal under the Hawaii Revised Statutes. This allows the investigator to concentrate on assisting solely in the preparation of cases for these types of offenders. The VACA investigator is assigned all felony cases where a violent act has been committed against a child victim. Also part of the VACA investigator's duties is to develop a database of offenders and to track offenders as they progress through the system. ]t