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Definition: A victim is usually defined as a person who has been directly harmed by a crime that was committed by another person. In some states, victims' rights apply only to victims of felonies (more serious crimes) while other states also grant legal rights to victims of misdemeanors (less serious crimes)

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  • document cover for Recommendations for Practice: Post-Conviction Victims' Rights and Services
    Accession Number
    033114

    In 2017, the National Institute of Corrections and the National Crime Victim Law Institute began work on a project to analyze existing rights and services, identify gaps and opportunities for inter-agency collaboration, and draft a set of recommendations to assist jurisdictions in the development of systems to improve rights compliance and implementation of integrated trauma-informed services post conviction.

  • Victim Services
    This page focuses on victim services in corrections, reentry, parole, and probation that occur after an offender has been convicted. Many states provide post-conviction victims' rights such as notification, protection, assistance with restitution, and referrals to crime victim services.
  • This report describes trends in victimization and victim service use over time, as well as patterns for the most recent time period. This information can inform the victim assistance, criminal justice, and broader public health community in key funding and policy decisions affecting the lives of crime victims and front line practitioners across the country, at a time when historic funding levels and increased flexibility in the use of victim assistance dollars make data-informed strategies as critical as ever.