Victim Services
Victims Advocate Coordinator
Juana Saavedra
(803) 205-4433
Juana Saavedra has been a Victim Advocate for 11 years and started her career at the City of Cayce in 2022. She began her career with the Richland County Solicitor’s Office with focus on Sexual Assault cases and bilingual cases, went to work for South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice focusing on Victim Impact Classes with the juveniles, then worked at the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office serving victims of crime, prior to joining the City of Cayce Police Department.
Placing a focus on serving victims, preparing victims for court and being a support system for them, Juana Saavedra works diligently to ensure that victims of crime are well aware of their rights and ensuring that their rights are not being violated throughout the judicial process. She has developed a positive camaraderie among advocates in other jurisdictions as well as having a positive working relationship with local prosecutors. As the Victim Advocacy/ Community Outreach Coordinator Juana wants to continue to build that positivity between the community and law enforcement in order to build a positive work environment.
When not at work, Juana enjoys spending time with family, reading on her downtime, and exploring new sights to venture out to. Juana takes pride in maintaining a positive attitude and being a role model in and out of the office. She looks forward in serving the community.
The goal of the Cayce Police Victim’s Advocate program to provide professional assistance to all individual crime victims throughout their interaction with law enforcement and the court system. In addition to being available to all victims during normal business hours, the Cayce Police Department Victim’s Advocate is also on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Where applicable, the Victim’s Advocate can/will:
- Assist or direct victims who are seeking restraining orders and/or orders of protection
- Attend with or represent victims at court hearings
- Notify victims of all court hearings
- Offer public information seminars
- Provide referrals for crisis counseling
- Assist with applications and referrals for financial assistance
- Offer services to all victims of a crime within 24 hours
Victim & Witness Bill of Rights
If you are a victim of crime you have the right to:
be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, or abuse, throughout the criminal and juvenile justice process;
be informed of and present at all criminal proceedings which are dispositive of the charges where the defendant has the right to be present;
be reasonably informed of and allowed to submit either a written or oral statement at all hearings affecting bond or bail;
a reasonable disposition and prompt and final conclusion of the case;
be reasonably informed when the accused or convicted person is arrested, released from custody, or has escaped;
be heard at any proceeding involving a post-arrest release decision, a plea, or sentencing;
be reasonably protected from the accused or persons acting on his behalf throughout the criminal justice process;
confer with the prosecution, after the crime against the victim has been charged, before the trial or before any disposition and informed of the disposition;
have reasonable access after the conclusion of the criminal investigation to all documents relating to the crime against the victim before trial;
receive prompt and full restitution from the person or persons convicted of the criminal conduct that caused the victim’s loss or injury including both adult and juvenile offenders;
be informed of any proceeding when any post-conviction action is being considered, and be present at any post-conviction hearing involving a post-conviction release decision;
have all rules governing criminal procedure and the admissibility of evidence in all criminal proceedings protect victims’ rights and have these rules subject to amendment or repeal by the legislature to ensure protection of these rights.
Victim's Compensation Fund
The Cayce Police Department Victim’s Advocate can also provide information on the South Carolina Victim’s Compensation Fund. This resource is intended to help individuals with medical expenses, loss of earnings, counseling expenses or funeral expenses that result from a crime. To qualify, individuals must report the crime to police within 48 hours (if possible), cooperate with law enforcement and the Governor’s Office Division of Victim’s Assistance, and complete an application. Our Victim’s Advocate can assist with this application process.
The Cayce Police Department Victim’s Advocate has provided the list below for victims of crime. It contains phone numbers commonly used to provide services.