Victims of Crime Act of 1984

Last updated

The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) is United States federal government legislation aimed at helping the victims of crime through means other than punishment of the criminal. It established the Crime Victim's Fund, a scheme to compensate victims of crime.

Contents

History

In the mid-1960s, liberal politicians proposed victim compensation. At the time, conservative politicians opposed the proposal, arguing that it was too costly for the government. Over time, conservatives proposed their own version, VOCA, which was funded entirely from fines on criminals. [1]

Crime victim's fund

The Office for Victims of Crime, established by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984, administers the Crime Victims Fund. The fund is financed by fines paid by convicted federal offenders. As of September 2013, the Fund balance had reached almost $9 billion. Revenues deposited into the Fund also come from gifts, donations, and bequests by private parties, as provided by an amendment to VOCA through the Patriot Act that went into effect in 2002. From 2002 – 2013, over $300,000 has been deposited into the Fund through this provision. [2] [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term crime does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition, though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes. The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in other words, something is a crime if declared as such by the relevant and applicable law. One proposed definition is that a crime or offence is an act harmful not only to some individual but also to a community, society, or the state. Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Money laundering</span> Process of concealing origin of money

Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions. It is usually a key operation of organized crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriot Act</span> 2001 United States anti-terrorism law

The USA PATRIOT Act was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, and the commonly used short name is a contrived acronym that is embedded in the name set forth in the statute.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development and evaluation agency of the United States Department of Justice. NIJ, along with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), and other program offices, comprise the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) branch of the Department of Justice.

James Hardie Industries plc is a global building materials company and the largest global manufacturer of fibre cement products. Headquartered in Ireland, it is a dual-listed company, being listed on the Australian and New York Stock Exchanges. Its management team currently sits in Chicago, Illinois, United States. James Hardie was plagued by several asbestos-related scandals in the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vic Toews</span> Canadian politician (born 1952)

Victor Toews is a Canadian politician and jurist. Toews is a judge of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 until his resignation on July 9, 2013, and served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, most recently as Minister of Public Safety. He previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1995 to 1999, and was a senior cabinet minister in the government of Gary Filmon. Prior to his appointment to the judiciary, Toews was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office of Justice Programs</span>

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that focuses on crime prevention through research and development, assistance to state, local, and tribal criminal justice agencies, including law enforcement, corrections, and juvenile justice through grants and assistance to crime victims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence Against Women Act</span> United States crime legislation

The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress when prosecutors chose to not prosecute cases. The Act also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Department of Justice.

Title VI: Providing for victims of terrorism, public safety officers and their families is the sixth of ten titles which comprise the USA PATRIOT Act, an anti-terrorism bill passed in the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It provides aid to the families of Public Safety Officers who were injured or killed in terrorist attacks, and amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984.

William Van Regenmorter was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, representing Ottawa County. He served as the representative of Michigan's 55th district from 1982 to 1990 and the 74 district from 2002 to 2006. Between those terms, from 1990 to 2002, he served as senator of the 22nd district. He authored Michigan's Crime Victims Rights Act, which has served as the national model for victims' rights. He also authored and passed two successful amendments to the Michigan Constitution.

Rape crisis centers (RCCs) are community-based organizations affiliated with the anti-rape movement that work to help victims of rape, sexual abuse, and sexual violence. Central to a community's rape response, RCCs provide a number of services, such as victim advocacy, crisis hotlines, community outreach, and education programs. As social movement organizations, they seek to change social beliefs and institutions, particularly in terms of how rape is understood by medical and legal entities and society at large. There is a great deal of diversity in terms of how RCCs are organized, which has implications for their ideological foundations, roles in their communities, and the services they offer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority</span>

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is an executive agency of the UK Government. The Authority, established in 1996 and based in Glasgow, administers a compensation scheme for injuries caused to victims of violent crime in England, Scotland and Wales. It is funded by the Ministry of Justice in England and Wales and the Justice Directorate in Scotland. The current Chief Executive is Linda Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office for Victims of Crime</span>

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is a part of the Office of Justice Programs, within the U.S. Department of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Australia</span>

Human trafficking in Australia is illegal under Divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code (Cth). In September 2005, Australia ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which supplemented the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Amendments to the Criminal Code were made in 2005 to implement the Protocol.

The United States Crime Victims Fund, administered by the Office for Victims of Crime, is used to recompense victims of offenses against U.S. law. The fund was established as part of the 1984 Victims of Crimes Act. The special assessment on convicted persons is paid into this fund, as are certain other criminal fines and penalties, and forfeited bail bonds. As of September 2013, the unspent balance of the fund was almost $9 billion. Each state is entitled to disburse funds for a multitude of different reasons such as compensation for pain and suffering, property replacement, money for loss of wages, property restoration and or cleaning of the crime scene. Office of Victim Services (OVS) helps victims in a number of ways as a family member, or friend cope with victimization from a crime. OVS can point victims to other service providers who may also be able to assist them. The National Crime Scene Cleanup Association (NCSCA) performs all clean crime scene cleaning for this fund at no charge to the victim or family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">41st Canadian Parliament</span> Canadian parliamentary session

The 41st Canadian Parliament was in session from June 2, 2011 to August 2, 2015, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011. Parliament convened on June 2, 2011, with the election of Andrew Scheer as Speaker, followed the next day with the Speech from the Throne. There were two sessions in this Parliament. On August 2, 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and issue the writ of election, leading to an 11-week election campaign period for the 2015 federal election. Significant legislation adopted during the 41st Parliament included the Copyright Modernization Act, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, the Jobs and Growth Act and the Fair Elections Act.

Victims' rights are legal rights afforded to victims of crime. These may include the right to restitution, the right to a victims' advocate, the right not to be excluded from criminal justice proceedings, and the right to speak at criminal justice proceedings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013</span>

The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 is a bill that would authorize the appropriation of $25 million annually over the 2015-2019 period for the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide grants to states and other recipients aimed at improving the enforcement of laws against human trafficking and to assist victims of such crimes. According to newspaper The Hill, the bill would "impose an additional fine of $5,000 on any person convicted of crimes related to sex trafficking, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of children or human smuggling."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil forfeiture in the United States</span> Aspect of U.S. law enforcement

Civil forfeiture in the United States, also called civil asset forfeiture or civil judicial forfeiture, is a process in which law enforcement officers take assets from people who are suspected of involvement with crime or illegal activity without necessarily charging the owners with wrongdoing. While civil procedure, as opposed to criminal procedure, generally involves a dispute between two private citizens, civil forfeiture involves a dispute between law enforcement and property such as a pile of cash or a house or a boat, such that the thing is suspected of being involved in a crime. To get back the seized property, owners must prove it was not involved in criminal activity. Sometimes it can mean a threat to seize property as well as the act of seizure itself. Civil forfeiture is not considered to be an example of a criminal justice financial obligation.

Victim Assist Queensland (VAQ) is an agency of the Queensland Government Department of Justice and Attorney-General that provides information, advice and financial assistance to victims of violent crime and domestic violence throughout the State of Queensland. VAQ also overseas the implementation of and complaints under the Queensland Charter of Victims' Rights, provides court support, and coordinates interagency referrals including with the Queensland Police Service.

References

  1. Levine, Jeremy R.; Russell, Kelly L. (2023). "Crime Pays the Victim: Criminal Fines, the State, and Victim Compensation Law 1964–1984". American Journal of Sociology. 128 (4).
  2. "About OVC | OVC".
  3. "Home".