CAPITAL REGION Few crime victims get money Eligibility tight; compensation rates vary by county BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
The state’s Crime Victims Board reported that in 2006-07 only a fraction of the victims of violent crime applied for money for their medical expenses, loss of pay and other costs. But each local county had a very different reason for its victim reimbursement rates. In Schenectady County, which had the 14th lowest victims’ compensation rate in the state (outside New York City), very few victims were eligible for money. Even though 688 residents were victims of a violent crime, some were also involved in the crime — as drug dealers, primarily — and thus ineligible for victim funds. District Attorney Robert Carney advised caution in reading the statistics, however, citing services provided to victims other than compensation in violent incidents. He said the county has three crime victim advocates funded by the state program and they provided services to more than 900 victims in 2007 and a similar number this year. “[The advocates] also go beyond that to counsel victims and to advise them of their rights, to support them in court appearances and to communicate on their behalf to the Crime Victims Board,” Carney said. The county advocates in his office, he said, “are serving victims that may not be included within the category of violent crimes and including victims that may not be receiving compensation.” He cited those that may not have a financial loss or may be insured. In Montgomery County, which also had a very low reimbursement rate, District Attorney Jed Conboy said most victims get direct, court-ordered restitution from their attackers. They only turn to the Crime Victims Board when the criminal is unable to pay, Conboy said. Saratoga County officials have a very different philosophy. The county, which has one of the highest reimbursement rates in the state, goes above and beyond the norm to make sure every victim of violent crime applies for funds from the Crime Victims Board. Saratoga County also benefi ts from being a largely suburban and rural county. The counties with major cities — even small cities like Schenectady — generally had low reimbursement rates because their victims couldn’t qualify for the funds, Crime Victims Board Chairwoman Tina Stanford said. “The requirement under the law that the person be an innocent victim of the crime discounts many of the crimes,” she said. “We see that scenario a lot. One of the big ones is gang violence. Another one is drugs. If there’s any belief on the part of the police that the victim was part of anything illegal, that makes them ineligible.” Victims must also be able to prove that they cooperated fully with police and reported the crime promptly. City police department spokesman Sgt. Eric Clifford said criminals regularly report that they have been robbed, shot at or otherwise attacked. “There are many times that we get called to a robbery or a car jacking and the person involved was in the neighborhood to buy drugs or solicit a prostitute,” he said. Many of the very violent crimes are drug-related, he added. Even in more rural counties like Montgomery, many violent crime victims are also in that boat. “It’s usually drug-related,” Sheriff Michael Amato said. But the rest generally get paid directly by their attackers, Conboy said. “We make a concerted effort in this county to try to make restitution directly to the victim as part of every conviction,” he said. “Naturally we prefer to have the defendant shoulder the responsibility.” Only those victims who can’t get money from their insurance company or the criminal go to the Crime Victims Board, he added. “That would be the number of cases where there’s no insurance and we can’t get the proverbial blood from the proverbial stone — the cases where the defendant is financially unable to make restitution,” Conboy said. SARATOGA EFFORT In Saratoga County, the district attorney’s office has a crime victim unit that dedicates itself to making sure victims get everything they deserve — including money from the Crime Victims Board. Crime victim advocate Vicki Merola said the unit will go so far as to fill out the board’s application for the victim and send it in. The unit begins by sending the application to each victim as soon as they report their crime to the police. Later, the unit also offers to go over the application line by line, either in person or over the phone. If that doesn’t work, advocates will fill out most of the application themselves and send it to the victim to complete. Victims can also fill in as much of the application as they can and then send it to the unit, which will finish it and send it to the Crime Victims Board. “We do make a very concerted effort,” Merola said. Victims can apply for any amount of reimbursement for actual expenses but must prove financial hardship if they ask for more than $5,000. The board prioritizes claims, fi rst helping those who were physically injured or paying burial costs. Using a new automated system, the board usually rules on those claims within 80 days. In previous years, victims had to wait an average of 160 days for their claim to be approved or denied. Sexual assault victims can receive immediate aid to pay for HIV treatments and the “morning after” pill, which prevents pregnancy. Unlike other victims, sexual assault victims do ...........................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00100
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