Frequently Asked Questions

Help in your area is available from your State/Local Victim Compensation and Assistance programs. Assistance may come in the form of financial reimbursement or victim services. Funding support for state assistance and compensation programs comes from the Crime Victims Fund administered by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) as authorized by the Victim of Crime Act.

Another source of help is your local victim/witness assistance program. You may contact the VictimConnect helpline by phone at 855–484–2846 or online chat for a referral in your area.

Find out more in this brochure, What You Can Do If You Are a Victim of Crime, which includes a brief overview of OVC, your rights, and where you can get help.

Statistics on inmates with HIV infections can be found in the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) publication series, HIV in Prisons and Jails.

Drug use statistics can be found in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health annual report, produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Also see the Substance Abuse & Crime section of our site for related information and resources.

Information about the number of persons incarcerated in prisons and jails in the United States is available in the Bureau of Justice Statistics series, Correctional Populations in the United States.

Data on children with at least one parent in state or federal prison is available in the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports, Incarcerated Parents and Their Children and Parents in Prison and Their Minor Children.

See the Capital Punishment section of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) website.

The amount of money appropriated to each state for victim compensation is available in the latest Crime Victims Fund Compensation and Assistance Allocation Charts on the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Funding & Awards: Formula Grants page.

See the How to Apply for Funding section of the OVC website for further information.

Information on steps you can take to avoid credit or check card fraud is available on the Protecting Against Credit Card Fraud section of the Federal Trade Commission website.

Visit the Fraud Special Feature section of our site for additional resources on the topic.

Questions regarding the Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership can be directed to 877-758-3787 or [email protected].

Statistics on cocaine use in the United States can be found in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health annual report, produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

If you are only seeking youth cocaine usage statistics, please visit the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and Monitoring the Future websites, which focus specifically on youth drug use.