Legislation To Help Crime Victims

Special Report No. 30 details the experience of a woman who was awarded a pension under the Criminal Injury Compensation program after her husband was killed. The woman, Ms. T., was promised that her pension would continue for the rest of her life and that it would be adjusted semi annually to reflect changes in the cost of living. Several years later, those cost of living adjustments were abruptly discontinued when responsibility for the Crime Victim Assistance Program was transferred from the Workers' Compensation Board to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. Without prior warning, Ms. T. and about 390 other victims of crime received an unsigned and undated form letter informing them that cost of living adjustments would no longer be made to their pensions. This Ombudsman report describes the investigation process and draws conclusions based on the investigation results.--Includes text from document.

Written by one of the world's leading experts on victimology, this book is designed to offer a broad introduction to the subject.

Prior to the emergence of a victims' movement in this country in the 1970s, crime victims had only limited formal rights and remedies in the modern American criminal justice system. With the active encouragement of those involved in the victims' movement and guidance supplied by a national Task Force on Victims of Crime, convened by President Reagan in 1982, federal and state authorization of crime victim rights and remedies has increased exponentially in the subsequent years. In fact, it has been estimated that there are currently tens of thousands of statutes that directly or indirectly affect crime victim rights and interests, as well as crime victim-related constitutional provisions in a majority of states. The authors describe the constitutional and legislative provisions addressing the principal crime victim rights and remedies and leading judicial opinions that have interpreted them. In addition to presenting the current state of the law in this area, the text describes the status of implementation of these rights and remedies, relevant empirical research, and a sampling of pertinent policy analysis. This comprehensive portrait of the past and current status of crime victim rights and remedies in this country will inform the continued evolution of law and practice in this area. The third edition of Crime Victim Rights and Remedies continues to address the evolution of key crime victim rights (e.g., the rights to notice of and to be present and heard at criminal justice proceedings) and includes the state constitutional amendments, legislation, court decisions, and empirical studies completed since the second edition in 2010. Of particular note is an expanded federal section regarding each right and remedy in the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act, enacted in 2004, and court decisions that have interpreted the Act in its initial decade of implementation. The third edition also adds a new chapter concerning crime victim rights and remedies in the United States armed services and internationally.

Prior to the emergence of a victims' movement in this country in the 1970s, crime victims had only limited formal rights and remedies in the modern American justice system. With the active encouragement of those involved in the victims' movement and guidance supplied by a national Task Force on Victims of Crime, convened by President Reagan in 1982, federal and state authorization of crime victim rights and remedies has increased exponentially in recent years. In fact, it has been estimated that there are currently tens of thousands of statutes which directly or indirectly affect crime victim rights and interests, as well as victim-related constitutional provisions in a majority of states. Tobolowsky describes the constitutional and legislative provisions addressing the principal crime victim rights and remedies and leading judicial opinions that have interpreted them. In addition to presenting the current state of law in this area, the text describes the status of implementation of these rights and remedies, relevant empirical research, and a sampling of the pertinent policy analysis. This comprehensive portrait of the past and current status of crime victims rights and remedies in this country will inform the continued evolution of law and practice in this area.

Considers S. 2936, to establish a D.C. Violent Crimes Compensation Commission to review personal injury claims of crime victims and to provide adequate compensation.