By Eric Seiverling and Taylor Brown
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In an effort to better protect victims of crime, the Pennsylvania Senate passed legislation Friday that would help improve communication with victims and ensure they receive any compensation they are owed.
Senate Bill 708, also known as the crime victims rights bill, would reinvest savings generated through a companion legislation into victim services and streamline the entire process in order for victims to receive help.
The bill broadens the time frame victims’ compensation may be sought from two years to five years and expands critical access to compensation.
It also lowers the expense of filing a compensation claim from $100 to $50.
The bill requires the law enforcement officer responding to or investigating an incident to provide basic information about the rights and services available to crime victims.
“An essential part of our criminal justice system is providing for the needs of crime victims,” said Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, one of the bill’s sponsors along with Sens. Vincent Hughes and Art Haywood.
It will create an improved open communication line with victims to seek necessary information to obtain compensation in criminal proceedings.
In 2012, the General Assembly approved legislation based on a comprehensive analysis of extensive data produced by the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, a bipartisan working group comprised of legislators, stakeholders and advocates of criminal justice reform.
During the previous legislative session, lawmakers worked to continue the progress made by introducing a package of bills.
Two parts of the three-bill proposal, which strengthened public safety and reduced prison and probation costs, were signed into law as Acts 114 and 115 of 2019.
“This represents the final piece of that package,” Bartolotta said. “All too often crime victims are forced to figure out how to advocate for themselves.”
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