As a crime victim attempts a return to normalcy, the investigators can't be there to hold their hands. But an advocate can, and often does.

The victim-witness advocate is often called to the scene, day or night, and remains available to the victims all the way through the case trial. The two women of the V.I. Police Department's Victim-Witness Advocate Unit help people exposed to crime navigate through the justice process, prepare for court and seek additional help or counseling.

When the unit was launched in March 2005, Lesley Webb was the only advocate and covered St. Thomas and St. John. In December 2008, Webb moved to St. Croix and covered the entire territory alone. This March, that changed when Desiree Ritter Lambertis moved from St. Croix to join the unit to cover St. Thomas and St. John.

Now the pair work in tandem to protect the victims from further re-victimization by a system that focuses on one thing - solving the crime.

"We are the human side of the police department; the sensitive part," Webb said. "We do what police officers can't do."

They are on-call 24-hours daily to act as a liaison between families, police, attorneys and even the medical examiner to answer questions for those seeking peace of mind. A key objective is to heal the victims and help them in their journey from victim to survivor, Lambertis said. The victim advocates are very careful not to disclose confidential information or even identities of the people they help.

"A victim could be a witness," Webb said.

"And a witness could be a potential victim," Lambertis chimed in.

The Police Department is not the only governmental agency to have advocates available to help victims and witnesses. As people move through the court system they can encounter advocates willing to help them at every level.

Antoinette James, the victim-witness coordinator for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Virgin Islands, deals with cases that come to federal court. She advises people of their right to attend hearings and to be updated as the case progresses. James introduces herself at the time the indictment is filed and is available after the trial concludes. She attends parole hearings with victims, which can be years later, she said.

"We all try to work together as one," James said. "People must remember that anyone can be a victim and we should help them as much as we can. When people reach out to you, just lend an extra helping hand. It can make a big difference in someone else's life."

But the governmental advocates are not the only ones wanting to help. There are service providers that have advocates who help with everything including counseling, court preparation, getting new housing for victims or witnesses who cannot return home after their trauma.

The Police Department's advocates work with the Family Resource Center on St. Thomas, the St. John Community Crisis Center and The Women's Coalition on St. Croix to provide well-rounded support.

Sandra Benjamin, formerly executive director of the Family Resource Center, which provides shelter for primarily women and children, thinks police advocates are a better way to facilitate case management but the objective is still the care of the victim.

She hopes all the different advocate groups are not a problem for those in need.

"From the perspective of the victim, I would hope that it is not overkill and not confusing," Benjamin said.

Clema Lewis, co-director of The Women's Coalition on St. Croix, believes it can take an entire community to help a victim through a life-altering trauma. And she wonders how the the Police Department can get by with only two.

"We have 65 advocates and sometimes I still run short," Lewis said. "The reality is, it takes a whole community. No one entity can do it alone. The more entities you have that's working in the best interest of the victims and their families, the better chance for justice the victim will receive."

When the Police Department introduced the advocate unit in 2005, there was a lot of speculation that it was a competition or an attempt to replace some of the other advocate agencies. Nothing could be further from the truth, Lewis said.

There is an emotional toll and having other advocates share the burden makes it easier to be available to victims and their families, day and night, she said.

"There is collaboration," said Lewis, who works with Webb on St. Croix. "If she gets a victim who needs follow-up, she refers them to us. We also make referrals to them. They are working on the police end and then we all go to court together."

Webb and Lambertis are "patiently waiting" while the department decides to hire two more advocates for the unit, but it won't wait too long. The street violence affects the territory's present, but it is also leaving deep scars on its future.

"There's a lot of anger, especially when it comes to younger siblings," Lambertis said of some children who are losing several siblings or friends in quick succession. "Our young people are not learning how to deal with grief. Grief turns to anger. Anger turns into something else. It's a ticking time bomb waiting to explode and it's exploding."

- Contact Ailene Torres at 774-8772 ext. 304 or e-mail atorres@dailynews.vi.