NCJ Number
73595
Date Published
1980
Length
68 pages
Annotation
Activities of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board of Ontario during the period April 1, 1979 to March 31, 1980, are described, with emphasis on summaries of cases and specification of amounts of awards to the victims.
Abstract
The legislation under which the board functions is the 1971 Compensation for Victims of Crime Act. The board is required to find the commission of a crime and to consider all relevant circumstances, including the victim's behavior, in determining whether to grant an award and what amount to grant. Although a 1-year time limitation for filing an application for compensation is prescribed by statute, the board may extend the time as it deems necessary. During this fiscal year 148 requests for extension were made, and 141 were approved. The number of applications for compensation declined slightly from 1,219 in 1978-79 to 1,190 in this fiscal year. The board actually heard 858 applications, an increase of 20 percent from the previous year. Total awards granted increased this year by 24 percent, from $1,748,484.75 to $2,170,688.91, while the average award rose from $1,960.72 to $2,059.79. Posters, brochures, and cards carried by police officers which draw attention to the program have increased public awareness and have facilitated victims' making application to the board. Recipients of awards this year included a 22-year-old assault victim, a female who was stabbed during a domestic dispute, a university student who sustained a fractured jaw from an assailant who was not apprehended, and the victim of an attempted rape.