ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the views and traits of victim-compensation officials so as to illuminate the effect of their backgrounds and attitudes on board decision-making and behavior, to assess their contribution to the programs' impact, to contrast board officials, lawmakers and crime victims, to characterize different official roles, and to make any distinctions possible between the two state's plans. Official perspectives about victim compensation's purpose and goals, as well as official backgrounds, attitudes, and decision-making influences, will affect the outcomes of the compensation process and its impact on victims and the criminal-justice process. The Board officials observed in this study thus can be labelled as either "advocates," or "neutrals." Board administrators were questioned about their general attitudes toward government and criminal justice to better understand their possible effects on official behavior. Officials also were asked about other factors affecting their decisions, and some of the responses were quite illuminating for understanding board decision making.
