New Roads to Justice - Compensating the Victim

• NCJ Number: 87095
• Journal: State Legislatures Volume: 7 Issue: 10 Dated: (November/December 1981) Pages: 11-17
• Author(s): M Gaynes
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This article discusses the funding, structure, award minimum and maximums, and eligibility criteria of State victim compensation programs, and some of the recent financial difficulties experienced by the programs are considered.

Abstract

In 14 States, the legislature appropriates money annually to cover the costs of the victim compensation program. In another 14 States, the programs rely entirely on penalty assessments levied on persons convicted of certain crimes. Restitution, where the offender makes direct payments to the victim, provides small amounts for victim compensation. In most States, losses for which a victim may be compensated include only medical expenses in excess of any medical insurance coverage and a portion, if not all, of a victim's lost earnings due to missed work. Administration of the programs is usually handled through a separate agency created by the enacting legislation. States generally deny awards if the victim provoked the crime or was involved in illegal activity at the time of the incident. All but two States refuse to grant awards if the victim is related to the offender. Twenty States require that the victim suffer a minimum financial loss, ranging from $25 to $250, for the claim to be considered. All States set maximum awards ranging from $1,500 in Colorado to $50,000 in Ohio and Texas. Further, the States generally require that the victim report the crime to the police within a certain time to be eligible for compensation. The cost and number of awards are increasing dramatically each year, such that a number of States are having difficulty funding their programs, and given the general mood of fiscal restraint at the Federal level, Federal assistance to State victim compensation programs appears unlikely in the near future. Characteristics of the victim compensation programs of those States that have them are presented in tabular form.