What Are You Doing for Victims Rights?

Speaking to the American Bar Association House of Delegates, August 6, 1962, United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said, “Crime is not only the cause of economic waste, but far worse than that, it is a reproach to the moral pretensions of our society, and advertises to the world the gap between our pronouncements and our performance.”

From out of the horror of violent crime our society has brought forth the National Crime Victims Rights movement. Our government is mandated to treat victims with respect through all stages of prosecution, pay for unreimbursed medical and funeral expenses, and give the victim a voice in the system. In New Jersey, as in many other states, victims’ rights are guaranteed in constitutional, statutory, and common law.

One conception of this movement is National Crime Victims Rights Week – this year April 26 to May 2. As victims and their supporters consider what we may do for our society this year, we must be mindful of a two-tiered problem. Violent crime is up while our state’s resources are diminishing. At this time of renewal, with so much changing in the occupations and habits of Americans, the task before us is to conceive new ideas to improve services to victims while reducing the costs to taxpayers. The following is a list of initiatives that would serve victims while saving taxpayer dollars:

1. Place Megan’s Law Offenders on the Internet as a Consequence for Failing to Register. Under current law, sex offenders are obliged to register their addresses with law enforcement. Sadly, if they fail to do so are usually not prosecuted. There are several reasons for this, including limited resources and a failure to prioritize Megan’s Law. Without registration, law enforcement does not know where they are and therefore cannot protect those vulnerable members of society who are likely to encounter them. New Jersey, as all other states, maintains an Internet database of all Megan’s Law offenders. New Jersey’s Megan’s Law website has a page for offenders who fail to register, but it only includes those offenders who already appear on the website, so it offers no additional protection to the public. Unfortunately, less than 20% of sex offenders appear on the website. The real tragedy is children who might otherwise have been protected are sexually assaulted. We could better monitor sex offenders and save taxpayer money by simply displaying every sex offender who fails to register on the New Jersey State Megan’s Law website. The public will be alerted to sex offenders who are eluding law enforcement, and, to the degree this would encourage voluntary registration, resources dedicated to this function could be more productively used elsewhere;

2. Appoint a VCCO Review Board. Under NJSA 52:4B-3.4 signed into law June 28, 2007, the Governor of New Jersey is obliged to appoint a Review Board for the Victims of Crime Compensation Agency (now the Victims of Crime Compensation Office, “VCCO”).The Review Board is to be available for the VCCO Director to consult on policies and procedures and is to, to review the agency’s performance, and hear appeals of VCCO decisions. The VCCO is backlogged with claims and has deteriorated into a bureaucratic mess, often revictimizing those in need. Victims who are dissatisfied with the VCCO are told they can file an appeal with the New Jersey Court of Appeals; a thin gruel to those already suffering from being raped, shot, stabbed, or survived the murder of a loved one. Appointing the Review Board is the Governor’s statutory obligation;

3. Add Enforcement Provision to the Crime Victims Bill of Rights. New Jersey has very admirable goals for victims as enunciated in the Crime Victims Constitutional Amendment and the Crime Victims Bill of Rights. Unfortunately, these laws have no means of enforcement. The practical result is victims’ rights are routinely violated with no recognition. Some states have included enforcement provisions to their crime victims legislation. This can be accomplished several ways. The most obvious method is to appoint the Review Board – which is already mandated by statute – and assign that body the enforcement authority.

4. Collect Victims Assessments from Criminals’ Bail. New Jersey does not use taxpayer dollars to support victims. The money used to assist victims is collected from defendants in our courts, incarcerated prisoners, and a federal grant. Guilty defendants are charged $100 or $50 per crime, depending on the seriousness of the offense. Unfortunately, many walk out of court with their returned bail money and never pay their victims’ assessment. This not only deprives victims of the revenue needed to fund their program, it unnecessarily burdens parole and probation officers with dunning their charges for the assessments. Today there is over $20,000,000 in unpaid assessments. Assemblyman Jack Conners has introduced bill A4182 (which merely brings to New Jersey the system already operating in Nevada and Illinois) to collect the assessments as a condition of return of bail.

5. Protect Funds that are Mandated for Victims. At the Assembly Budget Committee Hearing last week, Attorney General Anne Milgram announced the Federal Victim Assistance Grants (“VAG”) total $3.6 million. The Attorney General made no reference to victims in her prepared statement, but in response to a question from Assemblywoman Pou, the Attorney General admitted considering allocating part of those funds to other projects. The VAG grant is provided to New Jersey for the purpose of assisting victims overcome the horror of violent crime. This money must not be diverted to other projects.

6. Recognize Court Appointed Volunteers. For many years court appointed volunteers have provided invaluable service helping abused and neglected children find a permanent home. They have had a much better track record than DYFS. Court Appointed Special Advocates of new Jersey (“CASA”) estimates it saved $4.4 million dollars by getting children out of foster homes that cost the state at least $2000 per month. A bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (A3365) would give volunteers automatic access to a child’s records. Unfortunately, the Department of Children and Families has rejected the proposal because there would be an estimated expenditure of $86,500 for additional background checks that the new law would require. Victims, especially children who need a decent home, should not be short changed by such “penny wise and dollar foolish” thinking.


This year everyone can show their support for crime victims - and good government – by asking our public servants, “What are you doing for victims’ rights?” In this election year, let the candidates for Governor and the General Assembly display their achievements and agendas for advancing this cause. Crime victims and their supporters have the power to use government for genuine societal good without infecting the issue with politics.

Let us encourage everyone to send an e-mail to at least one public servant simply asking, “What have you done for victims’ rights?” Every incumbent and every challenger should have to prepare a response to that question, and in so doing, consider the issues, pass the bills, and enforce the laws.

Crime victims do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars to finance lobbyists in the halls of power. Our only appeal is to the conscience. Assisting crime victims by passing and enforcing the above laws will serve the public by bettering services to victims while saving taxpayers money. These issues are not simply good for society, they offer an opportunity for enlightenment in a government so often grossly common in its aims.

National Crime Victims Rights Week is the perfect occasion for a citizen to raise these issues. Just send an e-mail. If they respond with vagaries, suggest one or more of the ideas above. If they do not respond, e-mail them again and advise them other public servants have responded. If we can simply do this, crime victims and their supporters will have narrowed the gap between government pronouncements and deeds by democratic means.

By the way, what are you doing for victims' rights?


Copyright 2009, Edward Werner, all rights reserved