California's victims restitution fund running on empty

from the article by Jim Miller in The Press-Enterprise:

California's fund to help victims of crime is teetering on insolvency, with state officials this week scheduled to consider several cost-cutting moves to keep the account from going broke by next year.

The state restitution fund is the payer of last resort for crime victims and the oldest such program in the country. It has covered more than $2 billion worth of doctor's bills, burial costs and other expenses from hundreds of thousands of claims since it began in 1965.

....Victims advocates point to other causes for the fund's troubles: money taken by other parts of state government.

Feb 21, 2011 Victim, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA, Restitution

• Read More

Smart on Crime: Recommendations for the Administration and Congress

from the Executive Summary by Adrienne Benson:

Embodied in Smart on Crime are five basic principles the Coalition considers foundational, which Congress, the Administration and the judiciary should always consider when contemplating improvement to the criminal justice system. These principles include: 

Feb 16, 2011 Policy, Politics, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA

• Read More