Crime Victims Compensation in Maryland: Accomplishments and Strategies for the Future

Crime Victims Compensation in Maryland: Accomplishments and Strategies for the Future Lisa Newmark Megan Schaffer Report to the Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention The Urban Institute Justice Policy Center 2100 M St., NW Washington, DC 20037 This project was funded by the state of Maryland Governor‘s Office of Crime Control and Prevention under a Byrne Memorial Grant (2002-DB-MU-0024), awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions contained within this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of any agency. Any questions or comments can be forwarded to the first author at the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center (lnewmark@ui.urban.org or 202 261-5566). RESEARCH REPORT May 2003 For an electronic version (Adobe Acrobat) of the report, send an e-mail to jpc@ui.urban.org and specify “CICB report.” Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...............................................................................................................1 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................5 COMPENSATION FOR CRIME VICTIMS IN MARYLAND ................................................................9 Our Assessment of the Compensation Program ....................................................................................... 9 The Costs of Crime ................................................................................................................................ 10 Public Financial Assistance for Crime Victims........................................................................................ 11 Federal Regulations ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Maryland’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.................................................................................12 State Regulations ............................................................................................................................................ 13 The Claim Process........................................................................................................................................... 15 How Does Maryland’s Program Compare with Other States’ Programs? ................................................ 20 Plans For Future Development ............................................................................................................... 27 Developments to Expand Services.................................................................................................................... 27 Developments to Improve Operations............................................................................................................... 28 A Felony Exclusion Rule ................................................................................................................................... 28 CLIENTS’ EXPERIENCES WITH COMPENSATION ......................................................................29 Characteristics of Claims ....................................................................................................................... 30 Claimant and Victim Demographics ................................................................................................................. 30 Characteristics of the Crimes ........................................................................................................................... 31 Claim Processing ............................................................................................................................................ 32 Claim Outcomes.............................................................................................................................................. 35 What Do Claimants Say? ........................................................................................................................ 36 The Crime ....................................................................................................................................................... 36 Learning About Compensation ......................................................................................................................... 37 Compensation Policies and Claimants’ Needs .................................................................................................. 37 Filing for Compensation................................................................................................................................... 39 Processing the Claim.................................................................