Court Dogs Victoria

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What will your organisation try to achieve?

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.

What will its main activities be?

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.

What programs or services will you provide?

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.

Who is your target audience?

Legal, Justice Professionals, Police SOCIT teams, Social Workers. Child Protection.

Who will benefit from the organisation's activities and programs?

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.

Why is there a need for this new organisation?

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.