Proposed changes aim to address disparities in victim assistance and reduce arbitrary denials.

The U.S. Justice Department has put forward significant reforms to state-administered victim compensation programmes, targeting racial inequities and minimising unjustified denials of financial aid. This proposal, introduced by the Office for Victims of Crime, marks a major shift in how compensation claims are managed across the country.

The changes come in the wake of an investigative report by the Associated Press, which revealed that Black victims were disproportionately rejected for compensation in many states. These rejections were often based on subjective and implicit biases that permeate the criminal justice system.

If the proposal is accepted, it would prohibit states from considering a victim’s criminal history when assessing claims. It would also eliminate some of the most arbitrary reasons that often led to rejections, particularly those linked to victim behaviour before or after the crime. For example, the practice of denying claims under a category known as “contributory misconduct” would be severely restricted. This category has been used in many instances to accuse victims, often without evidence, of having played a role in their own victimisation.

Each year, thousands of Americans rely on state compensation programmes to cover essential expenses, such as funeral costs, medical treatments, lost wages, and crime-scene clean-up. However, the AP investigation found that Black victims in 19 out of the 23 states that provided racial data were denied at disproportionately high rates. In some states, Black applicants were nearly twice as likely to be rejected compared to white applicants. Between 2018 and 2021, these denials resulted in millions of dollars in lost compensation for Black families.

The proposed rule changes also specify that state programmes should no longer recover funds from victims who have received assistance through crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe. This addresses another area of concern, where victims’ financial support was sometimes unfairly questioned.

The proposal now enters a 60-day public comment phase, and it may take several months to review the feedback before any final changes are made.