The New Face of Crime Victims Assistance in Wasco County
“I don’t like bullies, and there’s a lot of them out there,”
- James Barber, Victim Advocate Coordinator from the Wasco County DA’s Office
James Barber, Victim Advocate Coordinator uses his cane to point to his new office sign.
By Cole Goodwin
This week the Wasco County DA’s Office moved its Crime Victim Assistance services into its own office in suite 206. The move is a part of the Office’s plan to create a more welcoming, safe, and accessible space for victims of crimes to seek counsel and advocacy.
The DA’s office also hired James Barber as its new Victims Advocate Coordinator in January.
Barber, said that the move was already making a difference to victims of crime by eliminating additional unnecessary retraumatization and distress to victims while he tries to help them navigate unfamiliar processes in an often intimidating criminal justice system.
Previously victims would essentially have to walk a “gauntlet of prosecutors and attorneys” prior to arriving at the advocacy desk. Now they walk in the door and it’s just Barber and an assistant.
“We want to help set people up for as much success as possible,” said Barber. “Especially if they’ve already had prior dealings with the criminal justice system. I think and I hope people will feel more comfortable approaching us now.”
The move out of the DA’s office and into its own space also sends a message to victims that Barber does not act as an extension of the DA but as an advocate for victims to the DA.
“Having this office separated from the DA’s office is a way to help people know that I’m operating services for them. I’m not acting as an extension of the district attorney. But that was kind of hard to believe before when the boss was standing right behind me,” said Barber.
To put it simply, if the DA is the Chef, then James Barber is the sommelier and it’s his job to help you understand the menu, and relay what your vision of justice looks like to the DA.
His job is to talk to victims of crime, help them understand how the criminal justice system works, understand what to expect, connect them to resources, and relay their desired resolutions and outcomes to the District Attorney.
“I’m not an attorney, and I’m not a paralegal. I can phrase things and have conversations in a way that an attorney and law enforcement can’t. What I do, essentially, is to serve as a bridge between victims of crime, and the attorneys that are prosecuting.
His job is to keep victims informed and aware of the court process and what outcomes can be expected.
“If you don’t know what to expect or what's going to happen then typically that’s gonna generate a lot of anxieties, a lot of fears, a lot of trepidation,” he said.
For example, a person injured in an assault may very well understand the injury they suffered, but not the process of how their assailant will be charged and sentenced.
I’m here to help bridge that gap and provide them with an arena to help them flesh out what kind of a resolution they would actually like to see happen. We can flesh out this idea you have and what you would like to see happen and I can approach the attorney and start trying to figure it out.”
The Buck Stops Here
Wasco County DA Matt Ellis
“What’s great about my job is I just advocate for the needs of the victim 100% of the time, every time. Maybe their desired outcome is not possible (because of statues or other legal reasons), but I still get to try,” said Barber.
He said the challenge for the DA is balancing the needs of the community and the needs of the individual while addressing the root causes of crime.
DA Matt Ellis, Chief Deputy District Attorney Kara Davis and Deputy DA Sally Carpenter are working to hold people accountable, not just punish them. They are looking to find ways to fix root causes by bolstering mental health, domestic violence and sexual assault resources instead of “kicking the can down the road” said Barber.
Every single case, since Barber’s arrival in January, has received victims’ input. “I’m really happy about the fact,” he said.
“I don’t know how things were done beforehand at all. I’m new to the area. But I can get an idea of what previous expectations were like because I deal with it a lot. So, I really enjoy knowing that none of our cases have been resolved without victims' buy-in and support.”
Ellis and Davis both come from a public defender background. Barber said that is part of why they’ve been able to find justice for the victim in ways that may have not been found otherwise.
Every case is unique and Barber said it is his job is to communicate and protect the victim's standpoint to the DA. “The victim gets to decide what they see as justice and then we balance it out with the attorneys that are prosecuting,” said Barber.
New Hires Bring Diversity to the DA’s Office
Barber said that when he was hired the DA’s office was facing a lot of turnovers, but that the office has used it as an opportunity to shake things up and bring in more diversity.
Barber said that the decision to move the Advocacy Desk into its own office also allowed the DA’s office to create another full-time position.
The DA has hired bilingual employees to fill the Victims Advocate roles, Barber speaks English and Italian and the newly hired Victims Advocate Assistant, Yahaira Alvarez speaks English and Spanish.
Bridging gaps between Juvenile and Adult Agencies
Barber said he is working hard to streamline the often jarring process for victims who are transitioning between agencies, including Juvenile and Adult Criminal Court.
“When people get referred up from these other agencies for criminal charging they have to work with a whole other set of people like myself,” said Barber.
“So we now have a Victims Advocate Assistant, and that has now become a full-time position and we are using that position to help us integrate with our Juvenile Department, which is something that hasn’t been done before,” said Barber. “Sometimes things will transition from the juvenile department over into the adult criminal court and having a new advocate assistant that will play both roles and work in both areas for us, is just going to help us do a better job of being in touch with what the community wants to see and being able to make better changes.”
“It’s the transition from one agency to the next where most revictimizations are going to occur. So I’m working really hard right now to establish new ties and strengthen current ties between a lot of different agencies to establish a solidified network so people can transition from one to the other understanding all their options available to them,” said Barber.
Putting a Stop to Victim Blaming
Barber said he felt that a part of his job was to end victim-blaming, and destigmatize being a victim of a crime and help his clients understand that everyone is accountable for their actions.
“It’s already a traumatic situation, and a lot of people have a hard time. They don’t want to be associated with the term ‘victim'. And I’m like, well, a victim is merely a person who has had somebody do something against them and against their will... That doesn’t mean you allowed it to happen. That doesn’t mean you wanted it to happen. That doesn’t mean you supported it taking place. If somebody perpetrates a crime, then we want to make sure that we’re holding them accountable for their choices in that scenario,” said Barber.
It’s also part of his role to help them understand that they do have a lot of options and can have a say in case resolutions.
James Barber, Victim Advocate Coordinator for The Wasco County District Attorney’s Office
Get to Know James Barber
Originally from Long Island, New York City, James Barber may be new in town, but he’s flown around the block once or twice.
Barber comes from a strong military background. His father was enlisted in the military as a Security Forces Chief Master Sergeant for 30 years, and his Uncles were also enlisted as non commissioned officers so he grew up as an “military brat” in a large boisterous Italian-American family. (His grandfather emigrated from Napoli, Italy to the US just after World War II.)
“So I grew up moving all over the place,” said Barber. “I moved to three different countries for first grade alone, kind of deal. And then I got commissioned as an officer. So, I became the first officer in my family, so I get a lot of crap about it all the time.”
“I was flying missions and combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. I flew counter-drug operations all over South America. Protective missions and hurricane relief operations all over North America and the Pacific,” said Barber.
Barber also boxed for the Air Force and was their number one USAF lightweight and featherweight boxing champion from 2008-2011. He was ranked number ten in USA featherweight boxing in 2009-2010.
He also had some experience as a volunteer special victims counselor in the military.
“When I wasn’t doing flying missions I would work alongside our Special Victims Counsel as a volunteer. We would advocate on behalf of victims of … crimes that were being prosecuted under the uniform code of military justice,” said Barber. “And then I’d help facilitate with advocating for victims of sexual assault, as well as prevention and response training.”
Barber said victim advocate work was an important part of his mission to protect and serve.
“I joined the Air Force to protect and defend people who can’t protect and defend themselves,” said Barber. “I don’t like bullies, and there’s a lot of them out there.”
But severe injuries suffered on a mission brought his military and boxing career to an end.
“I had an alert mission go very poorly about seven years ago, and so I got hurt pretty bad on that, going in to go fly a mission,” said Barber, who uses a cane. “I went through a whole lot of surgeries, and I’m still going through more surgeries. I wasn’t able to get back on flying status, and I wasn’t deployable either, so I had to find a new career and profession.”
But he didn’t immediately end up as a Victim’s Advocate. Instead, he decided to train as a Sommelier and Chef.
“I was recovering from my fourth or fifth round of surgery and just reflecting on food and drink, and I realized I wanted to find a way to build a sense of community in it. You can think about every great and terrible experience you’ve had in your life and food and drink or lack thereof probably had a role in it,” said Barber.
So he decided to get certified as a Sommelier and Chef and try to build that community through food and drink himself.
“I went through a whole lot of sommelier training in Austin, TX and Chicago, IL then I took a sabbatical to Europe for four months and did chef training,” said Barber.
He traveled to Italy, Scotland, England, Denmark, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Austria, France, and Greece to study and learn their food culture and cuisine. That’s when he started working as an assistant to the executive chef at Martha’s Vineyard, which is located on the Island in Massachusetts where JAWS was filmed.
“It was awesome,” said Barber, “It was great. I got to work in front of the house and back of the house at the same time.”
He would help the executive chef craft the menu and then transition to the front of the house where he’d do everything from food pairings and walking people through the world of wine to bussing tables.
He says that the world of wine is a lot like the legal system.
“It can be incredibly intimidating. It’s a whole different language that a lot of people aren’t familiar with. It sets up a lot of obstacles for people to get involved… or even just understand it from a very bare-bones standpoint,” said Barber.
Then COVID hit.
“When COVID hit and everything started getting shut down, I got approached by a couple of companies like Palo Alto Networks that asked me to do some events for them, where I would use food and drink as an allegory to have discussions about diversity, equity, inclusion, leadership, communication style and things of that nature,” said Barber.
Then Barber was approached about the opening of a Victim’s Advocate Coordinator Position in Wasco County Oregon. Barber said his interest was peaked and he hoped his background growing up poor, his career as an Air Weapons Officer, Air Battle Manager, retired Air Force Captain and Special Victims Counsel Volunteer, his love of building efficient systems and finding ways to serve and defend others would make him a good fit for the position.
“It was great, just growing up really poor and in a large family that’s loud and boisterous and all over the place, from being incredibly blue-collar to incredibly white collar… it just made a lot of sense to me to start working to help people take something that’s complex and intimidating and help them understand what’s taking place and finding a way to help them manage it and set them up for success.”
He’s also done his fair share of schooling.
“I have bachelors in Computer Science with an emphasis in Mathematics and Database Design. My Masters is in Quality Systems Management, which is like quality control and efficiency,” said Barber.
Barber said he’s confident that he is the right man for the job. He said his variety of experience makes him good at explaining difficult and intimidating subjects, and his penchant for standing up to bullies makes him a good crime victims advocate.
‘I learned so many different life lessons and communicative techniques and leadership principles from all those positions, and I use them all the time,” said Barber. “And so it’s been great being able to talk to people from all walks of life in the community. And it’s great because I can almost always come from a perspective of understanding.”
Barber said he thought being the one who was able to stand up and help others stand up for themselves in situations where it’s scary is important work that requires integrity.
“People always say integrity is doing the right thing when nobodies looking, but it’s twofold. It’s also being able to stand up and do the right thing when everybody’s watching, and sometimes that’s when it’s the hardest to do,” said Barber.
Barber said he’s enjoyed being able to be an advocate for victims of crimes and being a part of building a better system for them to navigate.
“It’s already such an emotional and traumatic situation for victims that it’s important to make sure they’re not being revictimized by being brought into a whole new system they’re not familiar with and a whole different language already associated with it.”
He also had some advice for those who might be victims of crime.
Barber’s Advice to Crime Victims
Introduce yourself to your Victim Advocate first, explain what’s happened second.
Barber said that it can sometimes be hard for victims of crimes to focus on basic things like introducing themselves if they’ve gone through a distressing situation or a traumatic event.
“Sometimes people come in and just start telling me this is what’s happened, this is what’s taking place, this is what’s going on, and I’m like trying to take notes and saying "but I need to know your name!" and it’s an incredibly distressing situation for them so they just keep going,” said Barber. “And then come to find out the event happened in another county, and we don’t have any of their information.”
Barber then has to refer the person to another county office and the victim will have to rehash the scenario to yet another advocate.
Introducing yourself to your victim advocate first allows them time to look up information about your case and get a feel for what’s happening or whether you’re in the most appropriate office that can address your needs before you have to relive a traumatic experience.
“Take a moment and introduce yourself. And allow me the opportunity to pull up whatever information I may have for it,” said Barber. “It helps prevent someone from having to relive a traumatic event, only to be told that we don’t have their information.”
Every Case is Unique
“We’re here to hold people accountable and that can be very different depending on each case. So what happened to your friend is not necessarily the same thing that happens in every event,” said Barber. “Every case is an individual case and every victim gets a say in what takes place.”
Engage With Us
“Engage with us, engaging with us, letting us know what you want to have happen is going to help you get what you want,” said Barber.
Individuals don’t always hold the charges.
“That’s why it’s the State of Oregon vs So and So,” said Barber. “Charges can still be pressed, things can still be pushed without your involvement. The only thing that not engaging with us guarantees is that you don’t get a say.”
“You can be, like, look, I want to be able to have contact with them. I want to make sure that prosecutors know this took place. I want them to know this was a giant misunderstanding. You can say I don’t want this person to get in trouble, etc because otherwise attorneys upstairs only have law enforcement reports to go off of,” said Barber. “And law enforcement does a great job sending us highly detailed reports, but they are also dealing with the same high-stress scenario as the victim, and they sometimes take these reports during high-stress situations and have their own perspective in it while doing so.”
“Being engaged can also help us connect you to resources that you might not have had available to you beforehand,” said Barber. “Maybe you couldn’t afford rehabilitation treatment before. Maybe a person didn’t realize the extent of their behavior until they realized other people from the outside were saying ‘look you can’t do this’ and we can help them find help.”
Have you been the victim of a crime in Wasco County?
You can reach the Crime Victim Assistance Office at
Wasco County Courthouse.
The Wasco County Courthouse
511 Washigton Street, Suite 206
The Dalles, OR 97058
Contact James Barber, Victim Advocate to make an appointment.
541-506-2680
jamesb@co.wasco.or.us
For more information about Victim services and vist www.co.wasco.or.us.
