The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | December 2020 Understanding the Victims of Crime Compensation Office
The State of New Jersey Victims of Crime Compensation Office ( VCCO ) wants to make it easy for law enforcement to provide crime victims and their families information about a VCCO . The VCCO is a department in the Office of the Attorney General , Department of Law and Public Safety , Division of Criminal Justice . Under statute , law enforcement agencies are required to provide all victims with information about VCCO . VCCO can provide all law enforcement agencies with Outreach Cards to make it easy to do this .
The VCCO can pay up to $ 25,000.00 for crime related expenses and losses plus an additional $ 35,000.00 when the crime related injury is determined to be catastrophic . Crime related benefits include , but are not limited to ; medical expenses , mental health counseling , loss of earnings , loss of support ( from the offender or the deceased victim ), funeral expenses , relocation expenses , crime scene clean up , domestic help , child care assistance and attorney fees .
The funding available for victims from the VCCO can only be accessed by filing an application with the VCCO – there is no other way to qualify for the funding . Law enforcement should provide VCCO information to any victim without pre-screening . Only VCCO can determine eligibility . Victims do have to submit proof that the crime was reported to the police so VCCO may contact your agency to obtain a police report .
Please send any requests for VCCO Outreach Cards or other VCCO outreach materials to NJVICTIMSOUTREACH @ njvictims . org . VCCO outreach materials are free . Our website includes downloadable outreach materials , the VCCO application and information about our office www . njvictims . org . We are always available to answer questions as well .
.
13