Crime Victims' Rights Week is April 22-28
Comet staff report

Crime victims and survivors will join with victims' advocates and allied professional service providers this month to celebrate the 27th anniversary of National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) from April 22-28.

This year's theme, "Every Victim. Every Time." encourages the nation to advance the rights of victims and expand the services they need to rebuild their lives. NCVRW is a reminder that every victim deserves respect and compassion while recovering from the impact of the crime committed against them.

This year also marks the 23rd anniversary of the Crime Victims Fund established by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA), which, over the past two decades, has provided billions of dollars nationally for victim assistance programs. These programs offer a wide range of services to crime victims, and compensation that helps victims cope with the financial impact of crime. VOCA is not derived from taxpayers' dollars but, rather, from federal criminal fines, forfeited appearance bonds, and special assessments on Federal convictions.

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute's Victims Services division allocates VOCA funding to law enforcement and victim service agencies, prosecutors' offices, domestic violence shelters, CASAs and sexual assault treatment centers through an annual competitive grant cycle. Since its inception, the Victims Compensation program in Indiana has awarded more than 19 million dollars in assistance to more than 30,000 victims.