ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at addressing the financial and non-financial losses incurred by victims as a result of the victimization and participation in the criminal justice process. Restitution, civil litigation, insurance payments, victim compensation, and the development of system programs and projects to assist victims are discussed in this chapter. These are considered as means of both restoring the victim’s losses and bringing the victim back into the criminal justice system. The chapter evaluates the impact of restitution and comments on the benefits and limitations of civil litigation. It outlines several recommendations for improving civil remedies and discusses eligibility restrictions for compensation. Victim compensation takes place when the state, rather than the perpetrator, reimburses the victim for losses sustained at the hands of the criminal. Victim compensation administrators generally assume that their programs increase victim participation in the criminal justice system. The chapter lists different types of services usually provided by victim-witness programs. It talks about the assumptions that underlie victim-witness service projects.
