Political Victims: How the Politics of Victims Rights Comes Up Short
Only 6 percent of all victims of violent crime apply for state compensation, and 96 percent receive no compensation from the state at all.
Too often, victims of crime fail to receive financial compensation. Restitution – money owed directly to victims by people convicted of crimes – is rarely collected, since most defendants are indigent. State victim compensation funds were created to fill that gap, but they are often funded primarily through fines, fees, and forfeitures rather than from general revenue funds. In this article, the author questions this funding choice, arguing that the state – not low-income defendants– should bear the responsibility for making victims whole.
The article traces the historical, political, and structural reasons procedural rights, rather than financial compensation, became the focus of the victims rights movement. Lawmakers rejected a more burdensome state-centered model of victim support – one where the state itself would be financially accountable and legally liable for victims’ losses. Swayed by prosecutors and police interests, lawmakers instead chose to favor a defendant-centered model that places the cost and blame on individuals.
Though the average cost to a victim of an aggravated assault is fifty-thousand dollars, the average compensation awarded in Louisiana and Nevada is three-thousand dollars. Criminal records often disqualify victims from accessing compensation funds, even though nine out of ten people who have criminal records have themselves been victims of a crime. The author argues that lawmakers have used the political popularity of victims’ rights to advance their own agendas, passing symbolic laws instead of funding real relief, imposing low compensation caps, setting rigid eligibility rules, and requiring cooperation with law enforcement to receive funds.
The author argues that states should stop relying solely on fines, fees, and forfeitures to find victim compensation, and instead commit general state funds to these programs.
You can read the full article here.
Key Findings:
- Between 2014 to 2016, the federal government collected just $2.95 billion in restitution while $110 billion remained unpaid. The U.S. Attorneys deemed $100 billion uncollectible due to defendants’ inability to pay.
- Compensation caps can be as low as $10,000 per victim, far below the real costs victims face. Burial costs alone can near $10,000.