Crime Victims: An Introduction to
Victimology
Seventh Edition
By Andrew Karmen
Chapter Twelve:
Repaying Victims
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How are Victims Repaid?
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1. Offender Pays—Preferred
2. Civil Suit
3. Insurance Companies
4. Victim Compensation Program
5. Profits from Notorious Criminals
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Restitution By Offender
 Return of stolen goods
 Equivalent amounts of money
 Performs direct services
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Restitution By Offender
 Types of Restitution
– Community Service
– Symbolic Restitution
– Creative Restitution
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Rise/Fall/Rediscovery of
Restitution
 Code of Hammurabi, 1775 B.C.
 Roman Law
 Early America
 Courts system: “crimes against the state”
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Rise/Fall/Rediscovery of
Restitution
 1982: Presidents Task Force on Victims and
Crime—Recommendation for Restitution
paid by offenders
 1994: Mandatory restitution in Federal cases
of sexual assault and domestic violence
 Courts in every state now have right to order
restitution
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Restitution By Offender
 Reimbursement Covers
– Medical and counseling costs
– Replacement of property
– Lost wages due to injuries
– Other direct costs
– Funeral expenditures
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Purposes of Restitution
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Repay Victims
Rehabilitate Offenders
Reconciliation
Means of Punishing
– First priority is to incarcerate to repay debt to
society
– Second is to make efforts to repay victim
– Incarceration and Restitution Not Compatible
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Restitution By Offender
 Opportunities for Restitution –Figure 12.1, page
343
 Very small percentage receive restitution (Figure
12.2, page 344: Funneling or Shrinkage: The
Leaky Net)
 Economic Realities
 Evaluation of Restitution Programs:
– Victim-oriented—make victims whole
– Offender-oriented—rehabilitate
– System-oriented—reduces costs of incarceration
 No consensus on how to evaluate
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Imposition of Restitution
 Ordered in small proportion of violent
crimes:
– Murder 14%
– Rape and Robbery 16%
– Aggravated Assault 15%
Higher for Property Crimes
Burglaries 24%
Fraud 30%
Table 12.1, page 346
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Civil Court Remedies
Victims can pursue offenders in civil court
 Tort Law—private wrongs
 Plaintiff—victims
 Compensatory Damages—meant to
compensate for actual losses
 Punitive Damages— additional sanctions
meant to punish the offender
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Civil Court Process
 Plaintiff files complaint (pleadings), noting
jurisdictional issues and causes for action
 Summons served to defendant and must
respond within 30 days
 Discovery process
 If the suit results from a crime, the civil suit
usually occurs after a criminal trial
 “Preponderance of Evidence”—51%
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Civil Court Process
 Challenges
– Takes years to repay
– Victim may counter-sue for harassment
– Good attorneys more important than facts
– Most criminals do not have resources to pay a
judgment ordered in civil court
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3rd Party Lawsuits
 See Examples in Chapter
 Suing Business
– Negligence created opportunity
– Did not act to prevent foreseeable crime
 Disregarded complaints
 Did not post warnings
Most 3rd party lawsuits brought by rape victims
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3rd Party Lawsuits
 Suing Government
– Standard is “gross negligence”
– Sovereign immunity
– Malfeasance
– Nonfeasance
– Wrongful escape
– Failure to warn
– Wrongful release
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Collecting Insurance
Reimbursements
 Most insurance policies reimburse victims:
– Life Insurance
– Home Owners Insurance
– Disability Insurance
– Auto Insurance
– Lost Wages Insurance—Workman’s Comp
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Victim Compensation Programs
 Government programs for social problems
– “New Frontier” and “Great Society”
– Rationales
 Shared Risk Rationale
 Government Liability Rationale
 Social Welfare Approach—Social Justice
 Political Realities
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Victim Compensation Programs
 VOCA—Victims of Crime Act, 1984
– First established compensation funds through
fines, penalties and forfeitures
– 1993—Every state had such a fund
How Funds Operate
Compensate only “innocent victims”
Serious crimes only—injury, trauma, death
Do not replace goods unless critical—elderly
Only “Out of Pocket” expenses reimbursed
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Victim Compensation Programs
Continued
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Will not pay if insurance pays
No double compensation
Restitution is subtracted from award
Groups can receive award (i.e. families of
DUI victim or Domestic Violence)
 Groups Excluded
– Police, fire, parolees, probationers, prisoners
– “Pain and Suffering” paid in some states
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Victim Compensation Programs
Continued
 How to Evaluate? Process and Impact
 Process Evaluation—how program
operates, productivity, costs, and decisionmaking patterns
 1988 study
– 62% from local fines and forfeitures
– 23% from taxes
– 15% from VOCA
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Victim Compensation Programs
Continued
 Process Evaluation:
– Most claims for DUI, Homicides, rapes,
robberies and child abuse
– Time for processing claims—1-24 months
– Most eligible victims never apply; unaware
– 2007: U.S. paid out $450 Million to violent crime
victims
– Assault Victims: largest group receiving aid
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Victim Compensation Programs
Continued
 Impact Evaluation (1983)—
– No evidence program is encouraging victims to
report and cooperate with CJ system
– Not reducing public discontent with CJ system,
provoked additional frustrations
– ¾ of those applying will not again if victimized
– This is only an exercise of “ symbolic politics”
– Public supports program but has no
understanding of victim dissatisfaction
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Confiscating Profits from Notorious
Criminals
 Read examples in chapter
 Son of Sam and Dog Day Afternoon
 1977: New York passed “Son of Sam Laws”
preventing criminals from making money from
writing books or movies
 1991: U.S. Supreme Court overturned based on
free speech limitations
 Laws changed to give all assets of criminals to
family of victims—no mention of royalties or
movies
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Key Terms
Community Service
Symbolic restitution
Creative restitution
Composition
Torts
Funneling or shrinkage
Plaintiffs
Defendants
Judgments
Punitive Damages
Compensatory
Damages
Pecuniary Damages
Wrongful Death
Battery
Trespass
Conversion of Chattel
False Imprisonment
Second Party
Pleading
Causes of Action
Process Server
First Party
Discovery
Interrogatories
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Key Terms
Depositions
Statute of Limitations
Attached
Garnished
Contingency Fees
Preponderance of
Evidence
Default Judgment
Pain and Suffering
Contingency Fees
Deep Pockets
Judgment-proof
Third Parties
Negligence
Sovereign Immunity
Nonfeasance
Malfeasance
Wrongful Escape
Failure to Warn
Wrongful Release
Abuse of Discretionary
Authority
False Positives
False Negatives
Deductible Clauses
Double Indemnity
Clause
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Key Terms
Redlining
Shared-risk Rationale
Government-Liability
Rationale
Social-Welfare
Approach
Social-Justice Rationale
Subrogated
Penalty Assessments
Means Test
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