Victim Compensation Program Law Essay Research Paper

NIBRS and Restitution
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Part 1
Victim Compensation Program
Apart from the emotional and physical trauma, the victims of crime sometimes suffer financial stress. Crime victim compensation programs offer financial assistance to these victims as they recover from the offense. The state introduced the first crime victimization compensation program in California in 1965 (National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Board, n.d.) Some of the money to fund these programs come from the offenders, with money collected from fees and fines charged to those who committed the crimes. Another funding source is from bonds from forfeited convicted offenders, special assessments of federal convicted corporations and individuals, and gifts from private parties. Every state in the country is running the program. Victims of crimes like rape, robbery, assault, sexual abuse, and domestic violence receive financial compensation from the program.
Expenses for medical care, counseling, wages, and in some cases, funeral costs are financed by the program. The eligibility to apply for the funds vary from state to state (Office of Victims of Crimes, n.d). There are conditions stipulated to states before they receive the funding for the program. Each state also has published caps on how much the program will fund the victims with maximum compensation for each crime category. Victims must apply for the funds within a specified time in the state where the crime occurred. Each state has its eligibility that victims must meet when they apply for the funds. Some of these requirements include cooperation with law enforcement in the investigation of the case, provide essential information needed by the program, and not being involved in the crime while seeking compensation.
The Historical Perspective of Restitution
Restitution goes all the way back to ancient civilizations, whereby there were regulations to compensate victims of crimes. The Mosaic Laws had provisions for restitution to some crimes that caused property damage or injury to maintain the relationships between involved parties. The aim of these laws was to ensure that the perpetrators of crimes compensated their victims to reduce retributive violence, compensation to victims, and settling disputes. The Roman laws, too did have provisions for compensation for injuries to property and individuals. These laws were applied to every criminal case that resulted in any harm to the victims. From these histories, it is clear that the victims of criminal acts will often suffer losses and seek redress on their issues. The historical and ancient models gave roots to restitution to victims of crime and criminal activities. In England, the Anglos Saxons had laws to pay restitution to victims and a fine to the king (Office of victims of crimes, n.d). Eventually, the state took over the restitution of crime victims, and the practice of restitution died. In the early years of America, individuals would buy services of the law to prosecute crimes, and this had the potential of the service to be misused by the wealthy.
The wealthy could buy justice, while the poor would not receive any. Eventuall...