Reports Show Black Crime Victims, Families Often Denied Compensation

In numerous states nationwide, Black crime victims and their families are often denied compensation for numerous reasons rooted in racial biases, Associated Press reports. Experts found New York, Delaware, Georgia, Nebraska, and more were just some of the states where African American applicants are twice as likely to be denied over white applicants. Between 2018 and 2021, thousands of Black families were denied millions of dollars worth of aid.

Every state has a program to reimburse crime victims and families for lost wages, medical bills, funerals, and other expenses. However, the rules vary, as well as other factors like program leaders and employees. Those responsible for application review base decisions on information provided by police reports and follow-up questionnaires—known to provide biased descriptions of the incidents—and some look for the case officers’ opinions of the victim’s behavior.

Data also found that Black applicants are three times more likely to be denied for behavior-based reasons, including contributory misconduct, than other races. An example: when a Chicago woman who was shot in the back was rejected due to failure to cooperate because she couldn’t identify the shooter. To stop this practice, several states changed eligibility rules to focus less on victims’ behavior. In Pennsylvania, laws were adjusted so applicants can no longer be denied financial help with funerals or counseling services because of behavior.

Elizabeth Ruebman, a victims-compensation advocate and former adviser to New Jersey’s attorney general, says the system has been fixed on bias practices for years. “We have this long history in victims services in this country of fixating on whether people are bad or good,” Ruebman said. “As a result, Black and brown applicants tend to face more scrutiny because of implicit biases.”

Tennessee is another state found to deny Black victims compensation disproportionately. The Tennessean reports victims and family members can file a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, a fund described as a “fund of last resort,” meaning victims aren’t eligible for compensation on expenses covered by other sources, like insurance. There are certain eligibility requirements to file, such as if the crime was reported to the police within 48 hours and if the victim didn’t contribute to the crime.

Delaware officials admit that systemic bias is heavily apparent when it comes to compensation. Black applicants accounted for less than half of the requests between 2018 and 2021 but more than 63% of denials.