A victim compensation program is a financial reimbursement aimed at recovering losses or medical costs due to crime-related activities done to a victim. These programs, in this case, give relief to a victim in case of property damage, injury, or property loss as they can use the funds to help them recover their health or property (Lee, 2019). In the case study of California, the state compensation fund contains the latest forty-three annual reports, the latest being the 2020-2021 annual report. The report can be calculated that claims and payments made by an erroneously convicted individual were $5 billion, higher than the previous years. In the same year, almost 46000 applications were made, much lower than in the last two years.
To be in a position to apply for the fund, a victim must have a physical injury, be at threat, and also, in some cases, be a victim of emotional damage. To be eligible for the fund, one must also be a resident of California at the time of the crime, the crime must occur in California, and the individual should not be part of the events leading to the crime (Karmen, 2019). Additionally, for one to qualify for expenses, caps and limits can apply to a victim if there are no sources of reimbursement such as healthcare insurance or worker’s compensation. In such a case, payments are included and are not limited to support like funeral, job retainment, and legal support.
The proportion of those who receive awards depends on compliance with the law and the categories available such as emergency or long term awards. Some awards are accepted even seven years after a crime: hence difficult to determine the exact proportion. From the report, 40640 applicants were granted compensation. Compensation was based on arson, assault, homicide, child abuse, and robbery (Karmen, 2019). There was a 14 percent denial rate, and reimbursements were given in $19475, $20473337, $15435686, $4507289, and $1995284, respectively.
References
Karmen, A. (2019). Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology. Cengage Learning Custom P.
Lee, S. (2019). Crime victim awareness and assistance through the decades. Annotation.