FRANKFORT KY (April 12, 2005) – Attorney General Greg Stumbo today joined Attorneys General of all fifty states in submitting a joint letter to Congress to protest “concern about drastic cuts” of more than $1.2 billion from the Federal Crime Victims Fund that provides direct assistance to victims of violent crimes. The letter was also signed by the Attorneys General of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

“The Administration’s proposal for the FY 2006 budget to remove $1.27 billion from the Crime Victims Fund would have a devastating impact on our ability to support victims of crime,” the Attorneys General said in their letter.

The appeal to Congress coincided with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 10-16. “This week we are focusing attention on the importance of assisting victims of violent crimes through education, community based programs and the justice system,” Stumbo said. “This assistance is not possible without proper funding.”

The Federal Crime Victims Fund was created by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA). VOCA funds come entirely from collections from federal criminal fines, forfeitures and special assessments – not from taxpayers. Through grants to state victim compensation programs, victims of violent crimes throughout the country have been able to get help for medical care, mental health counseling, funeral and burial expenses, and other vital services.

“Some 4,400 local programs depend on VOCA assistance grants to provide necessary services to nearly 4 million victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, drunk driving, elder abuse and robberies, as well as families of homicide victims and other victims of crime,” said the Attorneys General letter to Congress. “VOCA is the only federal grant program that supports direct assistance services to victims of every description.”

The Attorneys General asked Congress to protect funding for vital crime victim services and assure the future availability of these monies to the Crime Victims Fund.

The VOCA Crime Victims Fund is administered by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) in the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs. Although the Administration’s proposed federal budget includes VOCA funding of $650 million for fiscal year 2006, all other monies remaining in the fund and any new monies collected in fiscal year 2006 would be eliminated. As a result, starting in 2007, there would be no money readily available for state victim assistance programs, crime victim compensation grants, or for federal personnel who provide victim services.

“The proposed cut could not come at a worse time for states and territories,” which are facing significant budget problems, the letter said. “Victims should not be further burdened by having to pay for such services themselves, or worse, forced to go without them.”

This Thursday, April 14, 2005, the Office of the Attorney General is hosting the fourteenth annual Kentucky Crime Victims’ Rights Day Rally in the Capitol Rotunda at 2p.m. Trisha Meili, known around the world as “The Central Park Jogger” is the featured speaker at the event.