Legislation and Policy for Victims of Crime

The Victims of Crime Act provides victims with the following rights:

• to be treated with courtesy and respect by all justice personnel, without discrimination
  
• to receive information on the justice system, victim services and related legislation
  
• to receive, on request, certain case-specific information regarding police investigation, prosecution, sentencing and release of the offender
  
• to be given a reasonable opportunity to provide victim impact information for presentation to the court before sentencing of the offender
  
• to receive independent legal representation, provided free of charge where they cannot afford it, if an application has been made for disclosure of their personal records

The Victim Surcharge

A 15 % victim surcharge is added to fines imposed for federal and provincial offences. Funds collected are paid to the Victim Surcharge Special Account.

Expenditures from the Victim Account must be used to futher the objectives of the Victims of Crime Act. Funds are used to support victim services and initiatives and to provide an annual contribution to the British Columbia Neurotrama Fund.

Please note that the HTML version of the Victims of Crime Act is for private study or research purposes only, and is not the official versions of the Act. Official versions can be purchased from
Crown Publications.

Complaints about compliance with Victims of Crime Act can be made to the Office of the Ombudsman.

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