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Crime Victims Compensation Program
Victims of violent crimes often end up suffering from psychological, social as well as economic injuries from a crime and this may actually keep going even after the crime ends and the physical injuries have been healed. There is a program that has been created referred to as the Crime Victims Compensation (CVC) whose main aim is to ensure victims who have suffered from violent crimes are reimbursed. The CVC is administered by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) which is under the U.S Department of Justice. CVC gets it’s funding through the fines as well as the penalties that are paid by federal criminal offenders. Not all crimes are compensable, the federal regulation requires the states to over compensation to victims who may have undergone crimes such as domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault.
CVC does not often reimburse the victims of property crime violence and I believe this limitation is fair. Eligible expenses include mental health counselling, funeral expenses, medical bills ad loss of wages. The first reason why I support the limitation in place is because of the source of funding. CVC does not really have a steady flow of cash as they get funding from penalties paid by offenders. If the program begins reimbursing property crime, then it may become difficult to help victims of the crime who actually need the funding. They do not even get 100% of the payment but rather 60% although state may decide to add its own fund to the program which rarely happens. I believe the program also covers enough including crime-scene clean up, eyeglasses, dental care, prosthetic devices, replacement cost of clothing as well as beddings that is held as evidence as well as annuities for child victims for the loss of support. The only thing not covered is theft and property loss.
I ado acknowledge that property is of importance especially due to the fact that the property we possess are properties that we have really worked for, however, property can always be replaced as compared to the mental torture a person who was beaten up in domestic abuse, or a person who was raped at times a child who losses a parent to violent crimes. The felling that victims of violent crimes go through and nothing can be better or things may never be the same again, however the little financial help that they get from the state government may go a long way. For example, it is for a fact getting to see a psychiatrist is expensive and at times families of victims who go through the violent crimes may be unable to cover the cost, money that comes from the CVC will be important in facilitating the psychiatrist visits that will ensure that they get better.
The limitation is important also because I believe people may decide to commit property vandalism or theft on themselves so that they may benefits from the program. Most people who are often reimbursed by the VCC go through ordeals that no one could wish on themselves or rather that they could not do it for themselves for monetary benefits. However, I believe in property cases individuals may decide to vandalize or hire people to steal their property because they know that they will get a compensation of some sort.
Although property loss may not be covered under the VCC, there are still ways a person who loses property I theft or a crime may be compensated. Restitution involves the court which is a part of a sentence in a criminal case, a defendant is often ordered by the court to compensate victims for the losses that they may have incurred in a crime. Unlike the VCC where the state government chips in from the various programs that have been set in place, the compensation has to come from the defendants own pocket. The public policy is often in support of imposing restitution as part of a sentence in order to force the offenders to answer directly and face the consequences of their crimes. These allows victims of property violence or theft to get their dues although at times this may not be possible especially in cases where the defendant cannot raise the money he has been asked.
In conclusion, I believe the limitation that are in place in the Violent Crime Compensation program are justifiable. They get to reimburse victims a substantial amount of money for what they may have gone through. Victims of property violence should only rely on restitution to claim for compensation with the hope that the defendant may pay. In the future if the VCC gets a more robust funding and is able to completely reimburse or victims of violence completely then property violence victims may also be included in the funding.
