50 Park Place Webete: waitin og Newark, Ny 07102 iernoevers (o79) 6492107 i = Fax (079) 648-7875 State of New Jersey VICTIMS OF CRIME COMPENSATION BOARD. JON CORZINE EDWARD G, WERNER Governor Chairman June 1, 2007 Letter to Governor Corzine and all State Legislators CHRISTMAS TREE ITEMS FOR CRIME VICTIMS Dear Honorable Governor, Senators and Members of the General Assembly: Ithas been my privilege to serve as the Chairperson of the Victims of Crime Compensation Board (°VCCB”) for the past eighteen months. In that time I have had the pleasure of meeting many members of the legislature and representatives of the Governor's office. Itis reassuring to know that every one in State Government I have met has spoken of their wholehearted support for crime victims, As all of your hearts and minds are with us, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm your commitment. With your indulgence, I will briefly outline some of this agency's accomplishments and its most pressing challenges, Many of you are aware of the VCCB, but for those of you who are not, the VCCB is the State Government agency which pays for services needed by victims of Violent crime. For fiscal year 2007 the VCCB has processed 3830 claims and paid $13,882,992.92 for Services for vietims. Using the most recent month as an example, in April the VCCB helped vietims on 537 claims - ofthese, 94 were for domestic violence, 55 were for murder, and 55 were for sexual assault upon a child - and committed to pay $1,365,949.92 to victims or service providers. Inaddition to satisfying the demand for victims’ services already incumbent on the VCCB, this year the VCCB has twice responded to requests for assistance from the Department of Law and Public Safety. ‘The VCCB anticipates receiving more claims from service providers than those received in previous years Due tothe increased demands on New Jersey’s federal grant funds, non-profit service providers are seeking other funding sources for counseling and related services. The State Office of Victimy/ Witness Advocacy has recommended those agencies to the VCCB. Moreover, the VCCB will be the payer of last resort for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners should their grant funding prove insufficient for their needs One of the truly great things about the VCCB is its small price tag for taxpayers. Last year, the State of New Jersey taxpayers contributed only $1.7millon to the VCCB. This year, as a result of budget cuts, the VCCB will only receive only $1.3 million in State Government money. The rest of the money the VCCB spends comes from criminals. The VCCB receives approximately $6,000,000 per year from Penalties paid by criminals. Every time a criminal is sentenced, he or she is assessed $50 or S100, depending on the severity ofthe crime. The VCCB also receives approximately $2,000,000 per year from fees paid on purchases in prison and jail commissaries. The VCCB is awarded an annual federal grant of approximately $5,000,000. Parenthetically, the federal grant funds are derived from federal criminal Penalties. The remainder of the money used to pay victims comes from restitution and subrogation New Jensev fs AN EQUAL OreoRTUMTY EuPLOvER{Tunderstand you are all working very feverishly to hammer out the State’s budget. Fully cognizant of the demands on your time, I respectfully ask you to think about crime victims and pass the legislation below. Lapologize for failing to speak directly to each of you. Unfortunately, my duties here in Newark do not permit me to spend as much time as would prefer in Trenton. However, Ihave combined a few very important pieces of legislation which I respectfully list below as the “Christmas Tree Items for Crime Victims” CHRISTMAS TREE ITEMS FOR CRIME VICTIMS YCCB REORGANIZATION — (A4040/8218) This bill reorganizes the VCCB to make it more responsive to victims. Among other innovations, it saves over $447,000 in waste by eliminating political patronage positions. This | overwhelmingly passed the General Assembly last year by a vote of 70-3-4. It has been recently released favorably from the Senate Judiciary Committee. In anticipation of passage, the Office of Management and Budget has reduced the VCCB’s annual allocation by $400,000, Earlier this year, the VCCB like all State agencies, had to propose cuts of 10% and 20%, Rather than lay off constructive workers, it was decided to lay off Commissioners making annal salaries of over $110,000. To fail to pass this bill now would mean one of three alternatives: ‘he first isto maintain the political patronage appointees and pass the charge on to New Jersey taxpayers by increasing the State budget. If the money is not refunded, then there will either hhave to be lay-offs of other people or the money will have to be withdrawn from accounts that benefit victims, Certainly, none of you noble public servants would ever permit the likings of afew politically influential partisans to infect your decisions as to the public good. Why then would you compel time victims to pay this ransom? If there is a palatable location for political patronage Positions, then please use that plage. Please do not hoist this burden onto innocent vietims. ASSESSMENT INCREASE (A1834/S2639) This bill also passed the General Assembly overwhelmingly last session, The crime victims? assessment has been at $50 and $100 since 1993. A comparison of the year 1993 and the present are striking in their disparity. During the fiscal year 1993, the VCCB paid a total of $3,326,826.60 in claims. The total spent on domestic violence claims all year was $2,271.58, Obviously, we are becoming a more enlightened society on such issues as date rape and domestic violence. It should come as no surprise then that the VCCB must be prepared to compensate vietims and providers on a much larger scale than in 1993. The most direct and just way is to make the criminals who are responsible for so much pain pay for at least some of the healing. The modest increases called for in this legislation are long overdue BAIL WITHHOLDING (A3763/S2437) For the past four fiscal years, the VCCB has greatly increased payments to crime victims. The VCCB paid victims approximately $13,300,000 for fiscal 2003; $17,100,000 for fiscal 2004: $14,000,000 for fiscal 2005, and $15,000,000 for fiscal 2006. This is in stark contrast to the historical performance of the VCCB. Prior to the vast improvements implemented by Chairman Richard Pompelio, this agency paid approximately $4,000,000 per year. 2In these difficult financial times, the heavy burden on New Jersey taxpayers must not be increased, even for as worthy a eause as erime victims’ rights. One problem with collecting the revenue from criminals is collecting the revenue from criminals. Currently there is over $20,000,000 outstanding that criminals owe crime victims from unpaid assessments, In 5 the best efforts of probation officers and parole officers, there is litle likelihood of collecting most of this money. The solution is simply to collect the assessment when the criminals’ bail is returned, This method is employed in at least two other states without any problems. It is a logical improvement that will not only increase VCCB collections; it will save government money by relieving parole and probation officers ofthat part of their already very heavy burden. of 4, CREST (A3760/S243) The CREST account (i.e. Corrections Restitution) is maintained by the Department of Corrections (“DOC”) pursuant to NISA 2C:46-4 (1). CREST is an account containing money collected from inmates who are abliged to satisfy an order of restitution. In the normal course of events, DOC collects the money and pays the victim to whom it is owed. When the vietim cannot be located the money simply stays in the CREST account indefinitely. In many cases, the victim cannot be located, so the CREST account balance grows larger every year with no realistic chance of ever compensating the victims. The proposed legislation would mandate the transfer of moneys maintained in the CREST account to the VCCB. Any money left in the CREST account for two years without being claimed would automatically be transferred to the VCCB claims fund. 5. “NICOLE'S LAW” (A3711/S2215) This bill was inspired by a courageous woman whose daughter had been sexually assaulted. The offender was released from incarceration after serving only a few years. She was told that if her daughter wanted a restraining order she would have to go to a different court and explain the crime to a new judge who could then issue a restraining order. Our justice system should not victimize people a second time this way, especially when the victim is a child. Under this bill, the vietim would be entitled to request a restraining order at the conclusion of the criminal process, Tknow what some of you are thinking, ‘We can just put these off until some time in the future. If these were really important bills we would have heard about them from one of the many lobbyists in Trenton, * On bebalf of victims and those who serve them, I beg you not to adopt such thinking, ‘The reason no lobbyist has approached you about these bills is because crime victims do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars to finance lobbyists in the halls of power. Does our want for money make our cause any less important? To the contrary, our need is so basic and universally accepted that it should not takea well heeled politico to explain it As happens every year at this time, you will be besieged by many people who will ask you for their “Christmas Tree Items.” Although most will be for doling out money for meritorious expenditures, experience shows that many will be for individuals and projects whose sponsors are well connected and Whose allies are never few. On the other hand, crime victims’ “Christmas Tree Items” are either cost neutral or actually reduce government expenditures. Moreover, they are to assist innocent victims of violent crime — people with no place else to turn and for whom your constituents sincerely want you to be working. 3