Victims of Crime - Victim Services And Assistance

Interest in assisting victims first developed in the United States as a desire for restitution (monetary compensation) to be paid to a victim by the offender. Restitution for criminal acts has a long history, dating back to biblical times. The Bible often cites money payments for injuries, and this practice continued well into the Middle Ages. Around 1100, England's Henry I began to take a part of the restitution as a charge for holding a trial and for injury inflicted on the state because a criminal act had disturbed the peace of the kingdom. Eventually assault upon an individual became considered as an assault upon society, and the king took the entire payment.

For many years, a victim was often victimized again by the very system to which he or she turned for help. In 1982 Lois Haight observed in the "Statement of the Chairman," as part of the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime (Washington, D.C., 1982), that somewhere along the way the system began to cater to lawyers, judges, and defendants. Meanwhile, the victim was treated with institutionalized disinterest.

The "revictimization" may begin with an insensitive police officer who questions whether a victim was really raped or whether she had enticed the rapist. The rape victim may sit alone in a hospital emergency room waiting to be treated. She may even have to pay for the rape examination herself. An assault victim may find that the hospital is more concerned with whether he or she can pay for treatment. Judges and lawyers may seem to be more involved with the accused than with the victim. In fact, victims may never know when the trial takes place. If they do take part in a trial, victims may sit all day in a bare hallway outside the courtroom, waiting to testify as a witness, and may never even be called to the witness stand.

Changing Attitudes toward Victims

Attitudes toward victims improved through the 1980s and 1990s. State and federal governments, the judicial system, and private groups grew more eager to help victims. By 1996 approximately 10,000 organizations offered services to victims of crime. These organizations included domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, and child abuse programs. Law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and social services agencies also provided victim services. The types of services provided include:

Crisis intervention
Counseling
Emergency shelter and transportation
Legal services

TABLE 3.10
Family violence victimization rates, by victim-offender relationship, type of crime, and selected victim characteristics, 2002

		Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 and over
		Aggravated Assault				Simple assault
Characteristic	Total population	Relatives	Wellknown	Casual acquaintances	Strangers	Relatives	Wellknown	Casual acquaintances	Strangers
Gender
Male	112,241,930	0.3*	0.9	0.6	3.1	0.7	4.3	2.4	8.9
Female	119,347,330	0.5	0.9	0.3	1.2	2.0	4.9	2.5	4.0
Race
White	192,956,980	0.4	0.8	0.5	2.0	1.4	4.6	2.5	6.7
Black	28,871,440	0.6*	1.6	0.3*	3.6	1.2	5.7	2.3	4.8
Other	9,760,850	0.0*	0.5*	0.2*	0.2*	0.9*	1.6*	1.6*	5.1
Age
12–15	16,676,560	0.3*	1.9	0.8*	1.9	0.6*	12.8	7.3	11.9
16–19	16,171,800	0.6*	1.6*	1.6*	6.6	1.8*	14.0	6.7	13.2
20–24	19,317,740	1.4*	1.3*	0.2*	5.9	2.7	8.8	3.6	13.6
25–34	37,329,720	0.3*	1.3	0.5*	3.1	2.0	4.5	2.9	7.5
35–49	65,263,580	0.5	0.8	0.4*	1.2	1.7	3.1	1.5	5.6
50–64	43,746,850	0.0*	0.4*	0.3*	0.8	0.8	1.8	1.1	3.1
65 and over	33,083,000	0.1*	0.1*	0.0*	0.4*	0.1*	0.3*	0.3*	0.5*
Marital status²
Married	117,296,790	0.2*	0.3	0.3	1.3	1.1	1.4	0.7	3.6
Widowed	13,699,370	0.3*	0.7*	0.0*	1.1*	0.4*	0.7*	0.2*	1.3*
Divorced or separated	24,768,200	1.5	1.6	0.6*	1.5	4.3	5.0	4.3	5.6
Never married	74,029,810	0.3*	1.6	0.7	4.0	1.1	10.3	4.9	12.0
Family income³
Less than $7,500	8,347,650	1.8*	2.4*	1.8*	4.5	2.3 *	11.3	3.9	7.6
$7,500–$14,999	15,608,210	0.3*	1.5*	0.3*	3.3	2.0 *	5.2	3.4	7.0
$15,000–$24,999	23,872,200	0.6*	1.5	0.8*	3.1	3.1	5.6	3.6	5.3
$25,000–$34,999	24,104,810	0.3*	0.7*	0.7*	1.9	1.6	6.4	3.3	6.4
$35,000–$49,999	31,655,160	0.7*	1.2	0.5*	2.2	1.4	4.7	2.4	8.0
$50,000–$74,999	33,713,640	0.1*	0.3*	0.4*	1.6	1.1	3.3	2.6	6.5
$75,000 or more	43,139,380	0.2*	0.4*	0.4*	1.5	0.9	4.8	1.7	7.1
*Estimate is based on about 10 or fewer sample cases.
¹Crimes of violence includes data on rape, sexual assault, and robbery, not shown separately.
²Excludes data on persons whose marital status was not ascertained.
³Excludes data on persons whose family income was not ascertained.
SOURCE: "Table 35: Family Violence, 2002: Victimization Rate by Victim-Offender Relationship, by Type of Crime and Selected Victim Characteristics," in Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2002 Statistical Tables, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC, 2003

Victim Compensation

Victim compensation is a program that pays money from a public fund to help victims with expenses incurred because of a violent crime. Margery Fry, a British magistrate and legal reformer, began advocating a victim compensation program during the 1950s. In her book Arms of the Law (London, 1951), Fry wondered if we have neglected restitution customs adopted by our ancestors. She noted that making up for a wrong done held wide currency in earlier societies, and that it might be wise to revisit this form of punishment. Her book and articles advocating compensation programs aroused considerable discussion in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. As a result, New Zealand's legislature passed a law permitting the government to award compensation to victims. After several years of debate, the British Parliament created an experimental program in 1964.

VICTIM COMPENSATION PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES.

In the United States, interest in victim compensation grew rapidly in the mid-l960s. In 1965 California became the first state to develop a victim compensation program. The idea spread across the country, with New York (1966), Hawaii (1967), Maryland (1968), Massachusetts (1968), and New Jersey (1971) soon adopting compensation programs.

By the year 2002 all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands had victim compensation programs. Most state laws include reimbursement for medical treatment and physical therapy costs, counseling fees, lost wages, funeral and burial expenses, and loss of support to dependents of homicide victims. Average maximum awards generally range from $10,000 to $25,000. Some states also require a minimum loss, most often $100, before a victim can be compensated, or a $100 deductible (amount automatically not paid for a claim).

Victim compensation normally does not cover the costs of pain and suffering, future income loss, or property loss and damage (except the loss of eyeglasses, dentures,

TABLE 3.11
Violent crimes by victim-offender relationship, type of crime, and weapon used, 2002

	Percent of incidents
	Weapon used
All incidents	Number	Total incidents Percent	No weapon used	Total	Total firearm	Hand gun	Other gun
Crimes of violence	4,923,050	100 %	70.3 %	21.3 %	7.2 %	6.0 %	1.1 %
Completed violence	1,605,900	100	67.5	25.7	8.4	7.4	1.1*
Attempted/threatened violence	3,317,150	100	71.6	19.1	6.6	5.3	1.1
Rape/Sexual assault¹	247,730	100	84.5	7.2*	4.6*	4.6*	0.0*
Robbery	458,460	100	41.3	47.0	25.6	20.5	5.1*
Completed/property taken	341,910	100	40.3	47.2	26.8	22.8	4.0*
With injury	159,120	100	48.1	39.2	11.0*	10.3*	0.7*
Without injury	182,790	100	33.6	54.2	40.5	33.7	6.9*
Attempted to take property	116,550	100	44.0	46.4	22.2*	14.0*	8.2*
With injury	39,040	100	37.3*	56.0*	17.3*	7.0*	10.3*
Without injury	77,510	100	47.4	41.6	24.7*	17.6*	7.1*
Assault	4,216,850	100	72.6	19.3	5.3	4.5	0.7*
Aggravated	848,030	100	4.0	96.0	26.5	22.4	3.5*
With injury	273,670	100	12.4	87.6	13.1	11.8	1.3*
Threatened with weapon	574,360	100	…	100.0	33.0	27.5	4.6*
Simple²	3,368,820	100	89.9	…	…	…	…
With minor injury	845,940	100	93.4	…	…	…	…
Without injury	2,522,890	100	88.7	…	…	…	…
Involving strangers
Crimes of violence	2,403,050	100	59.9	28.2	11.3	9.5	1.7
Rape/Sexual assault¹	83,930	100	70.6	13.5*	13.5 *	13.5 *	0.0*
Robbery	330,540	100	27.2	58.4	34.9	28.5	6.4*
Aggravated assault	486,100	100	2.5*	97.5	30.0	25.2	4.2*
Simple assault²	1,502,490	100	85.1	…	…	…	…
Involving nonstrangers
Crimes of violence	2,520,000	100	80.1	14.6	3.2	2.7	0.5*
Rape/Sexual assault¹	163,800	100	91.6	3.9*	0.0*	0.0*	0.0*
Robbery	127,930	100	77.6	17.6*	1.7*	0.0*	1.7*
Aggravated assault	361,940	100	6.0*	94.0	21.9	18.7	2.6*
Simple assault²	1,866,340	100	93.7	…	…	…	…

etc., by the elderly). Compensation is paid only when other resources—private insurance or offender restitution, for example—do not cover the loss.

The federal government maintains the Crime Victims Fund, which is administered by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) in the U.S. Department of Justice. The Federal Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA, PL 98-473) established the fund, which administers two major formula grant programs: Victim Compensation and Victim Assistance. Like the state funds, victim compensation grants cover medical treatment and physical therapy costs, counseling fees, lost wages, funeral and burial expenses, and loss of support to dependents of homicide victims. Victim assistance funds include money for crisis intervention, counseling, emergency shelter, and criminal justice advocacy. (See below for more information on VOCA.)

Deposits into the fund come from fines, penalty assessments, and bond forfeitures collected from convicted federal criminal offenders. In 2001 legislation was passed allowing the fund to receive gifts, donations, and bequests from private entities. The federal funds from VOCA provide about 20–25 percent of the state compensation programs' total budgets through grants given to each of the states. Of every $140 awarded to a victim, $100 comes from the state and $40 comes from VOCA. Since 1985 the fund has distributed over $5.5 billion to support victim assistance and services.

Restitution Programs

Restitution programs require those who have harmed an individual to repay the victim. In the past, the criminal justice system often focused primarily on punishing the criminal, leaving victims to rely on civil court cases to regain damages. By 2000 most states permitted courts to allow restitution payments as a condition of probation and/or parole. About half of the states have laws requiring courts to order restitution or to record the reason for not doing so.

Restitution laws require that the offender be convicted before any restitution can be ordered. Most states allow a victim to claim medical expenses and property damage or loss, and most permit families of homicide victims to claim costs for loss of support. The state of Washington allows courts to determine damages for pain and suffering as well as "punitive damages" in an amount twice the victim's actual loss. In assessing damages, the courts must take into consideration the offender's ability to pay.

An offender may lose parole privileges and be imprisoned for nonpayment of restitution fees. The courts have upheld the constitutionality of incarcerating offenders for nonpayment, but the Supreme Court, in Beardon v. Georgia

TABLE 3.11
Violent crimes by victim-offender relationship, type of crime, and weapon used, 2002

	Percent of incidents
	Weapon used
All incidents	Gun type unknown	Knife	Sharp object	Blunt object	Other Weapon	weapon type unknown	Don't know if weapon present
Crimes of violence	0.1 %*	4.4 %	1.0 %	3.1 %	4.0 %	1.5 %	8.5 %
Completed violence	0.0*	3.6	1.7*	5.1	5.9	1.1*	6.8
Attempted/threatened violence	0.2*	4.8	0.7*	2.1	3.1	1.7	9.3
Rape/Sexual assault¹	0.0*	2.6*	0.0*	0.0*	0.0*	0.0*	8.4*
Robbery	0.0*	10.2	1.2*	2.3*	4.4*	3.3*	11.7
Completed/property taken	0.0*	9.9	0.6*	2.7*	3.6*	3.7*	12.5
With injury	0.0*	12.8*	1.3*	4.1*	5.4*	4.7*	12.7*
Without injury	0.0*	7.3*	0.0*	1.5*	2.0*	2.8*	12.2*
Attempted to take property	0.0*	11.3*	2.8*	1.1*	6.8*	2.2*	9.6*
With injury	0.0*	22.6*	0.0*	3.4*	6.2*	6.4*	6.7*
Without injury	0.0*	5.6*	4.2*	0.0*	7.2*	0.0*	11.1*
Assault	0.1*	3.9	1.1	3.3	4.2	1.4	8.1
Aggravated	0.6*	19.4	5.4	16.6	20.9	7.1	0.0*
With injury	0.0*	7.2*	9.1*	26.3	30.2	1.8*	0.0*
Threatened with weapon	0.9*	25.2	3.7*	12.0	16.5	9.6	0.0*
Simple²	…	…	…	…	…	…	10.1
With minor injury	…	…	…	…	…	…	6.6
Without injury	…	…	…	…	…	…	11.3
Involving strangers
Crimes of violence	0.1*	5.5	1.0 *	4.2	4.0	2.1	11.8
Rape/Sexual assault¹	0.0*	0.0*	0.0 *	0.0*	0.0*	0.0*	15.9*
Robbery	0.0*	11.9	1.6 *	0.9*	4.5*	4.6*	14.4
Aggravated assault	0.6*	19.2	4.0 *	20.3	16.5	7.5	0.0 *
Simple assault²	…	…	…	…	…	…	14.9
Involving nonstrangers
Crimes of violence	0.1*	3.4	1.1*	2.0	4.1	0.9*	5.2
Rape/Sexual assault¹	0.0*	3.9*	0.0*	0.0*	0.0*	0.0*	4.5*
Robbery	0.0*	5.8*	0.0*	6.1*	4.0*	0.0*	4.8*
Aggravated assault	0.6*	19.7	7.4*	11.6	26.8	6.6*	0.0*
Simple assault²	…	…	…	…	…	…	6.3
Note: Responses for weapons used are tallied once, based upon a hierarchy. In previous editions, multiple responses for weapons were tallied.
*Estimate is based on about 10 or fewer sample cases.
…Not applicable.
¹Includes verbal threats of rape and threats of sexual assault.
²Simple assault, by definition, does not involve the use of a weapon.
SOURCE: "Table 66: Percent of Incidents, by Victim-Offender Relationship, Type of Crime and Weapons Use," in Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2002 Statistical Tables, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC, 2003

(461 US 660, 1983), ruled that an offender could not be sent to prison for nonpayment if he or she had made a good-faith effort to pay and could not. Such an action would violate the Fourteenth Amendment. In most cases the offender must prove his inability to make the payments. When offenders prove that they cannot pay, the courts can reduce the amount, change the schedule of payments, or suspend payment.

Besides threatening offenders with imprisonment, some jurisdictions have other methods of collection. They can garnishee wages (take the payment amount from wages before the employee receives his salary) or attach (not allow a person to use) the offender's assets (bank accounts, stocks, bonds) until he or she pays the restitution. Some jurisdictions can even sell the offender's home.

Civil Suits

A victim can sue in civil court for damages without the offender having been found guilty of criminal charges. Victims often follow this route because it is easier to win civil cases. In a criminal case, a jury or judge can find an alleged offender guilty only if the proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt." In a civil case, the burden of proof requires merely a "preponderance of the evidence" against the accused. One still has to prove a crime was committed, that there were damages, and that the accused is liable to pay for those damages. Even when victims win a civil suit, they often have trouble collecting.