Victim Compensation Program Eligibility Requirements

State of Arizona

Arizona Criminal Justice Commission
Crime Victim Compensation Program

Eligibility Requirements

HAVE YOU BEEN AN INNOCENT VICTIM OF CRIME THAT CAUSED PHYSICAL HARM OR EXTREME MENTAL DISTRESS? ARE YOU AN ARIZONA RESIDENT WHO HAS BEEN A VICTIM OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM?

If the answer is YES, you may be eligible for financial compensation for out-of-pocket crime-related expenses.

The general criteria for eligibility are as follows:

  • The victim is victimized in Arizona, or is an Arizona resident who is victimized in an area that lacks a crime victim compensation program, or is a victim of international terrorism.
  • The crime is reported to a police agency within 72 hours of the discovery of the crime unless good cause is shown to justify a delay.
  • An application is filed within two years of the discovery of the crime, in the county in which the crime occurred, unless good cause is shown to justify a delay.
  • The victim or derivative victim willingly cooperates with law enforcement agencies.
  • The victim or a derivative victim suffers physical injury, a medical condition, mental distress, or death as a direct result of the criminally injurious conduct.
  • The victim or derivative victim incurs economic loss as a direct result of the crime that is not covered by a benefit or advantage that the person is entitled to receive from a collateral source.

Submitting an application for compensation does not guarantee an award. All claims will be thoroughly investigated.

The Crime Victim Compensation Program can cover crime-related expenses for:

  • Medical Costs
  • Mental Health Counseling (up to $5,000)
  • Funerals (up to $10,000)
  • Wage Loss / Loss of Support
  • Crime Scene Clean-up (up to $2,000)
  • Limited Transportation Costs (up to $1,500)

The maximum award of any one claim is $25,000.

The Compensation Program cannot cover:

  • Property loss or repair
  • Pain and suffering
  • Attorney fees
  • Victimization of a person serving a sentence of imprisonment in a detention facility, home arrest, or work furlough, or who has escaped imprisonment in a detention facility, home arrest, or work furlough program.

AWARDS MAY BE REDUCED OR DENIED IN THE FOLLOWING SITUATIONS:

  • The victim or derivative victim recouped the economic loss from a collateral source.
  • The victim bears some degree of responsibility for the cause of injury or death through negligence or intentional unlawful conduct, if that conduct substantially provoked or aggravated the incident causing the criminally injurious conduct.
  • The victim has not fully cooperated with the appropriate law enforcement agency.
  • Compensation program funds are insufficient to make an award.

DEFINITIONS

VICTIM:

A person who suffers physical injury, extreme mental distress, or death as a direct result of any of the following:

  • Criminally injurious conduct;
  • An act of international terrorism;
  • A person’s good faith effort to prevent criminally injurious conduct; or
  • A person’s good faith effort to apprehend a person suspected of engaging in criminally injurious conduct or an act of international terrorism.

DERIVATIVE VICTIM:

  • The spouse, child, parent, stepparent, stepchild, sibling, or guardian of a victim who died as a result of criminally injurious conduct or act of international terrorism and includes a child born after the victim’s death.
  • A person living in the household of a victim who died as a result of criminally injurious conduct.
  • A member of the victim’s family who witnessed the criminally injurious conduct.
  • A non-family member who witnessed a violent crime.
  • A person whose mental health counseling and care or presence during the victim’s mental health counseling and care is required for the successful treatment of the victim.

CLAIMANT:

Any natural person filing a claim under these rules and authorized to receive a compensation award for economic loss because the person is:

  • A victim of criminally injurious conduct;
  • A resident of this state who is injured by an act of international terrorism;
  • A derivative victim;
  • A person authorized to act on a victim’s behalf, or a person authorized to act on behalf of a deceased victim’s dependent if the victim died as a direct result of criminally injurious conduct or an act of international terrorism; or
  • A person who assumes an obligation or pays an expense directly related to a victim’s economic loss incurred as a direct result of criminally injurious conduct or an act of international terrorism.

HOW DO I GET MORE INFORMATION?

For further information or specific questions relating to a claim submitted, please call the Crime Victim Compensation Program (listed below), in the county where the crime occurred.

Completed Victim Compensation applications can be mailed to the address listed under the specific county where the crime occurred.

County Contacts for Crime Victim Compensation

  • Apache County Attorney’s Office
    P.O. Box 637
    St. Johns, AZ 85936
    (928) 337-7560
  • Cochise County Attorney’s Office - Victims Witness Program
    P.O. Drawer CA
    Bisbee, AZ 85603
    (520) 432-8700
  • Victim/Witness Services for Coconino County
    Coconino County Crime Victim Compensation Board
    201 E. Birch, Suite 4
    Flagstaff, AZ 86001
    (928) 779-6163
  • Gila County Attorney’s Office - Victim Services Unit
    1400 E. Ash Street
    Globe, AZ 85501
    (928) 402-8836
  • Graham County Attorney’s Office - Victim/Witness Program
    800 West Main Street
    Safford, AZ 85546
    (928) 428-4787
  • Greenlee County Attorney’s Office
    P.O. Box 1717
    Clifton, AZ 85533
    (928) 865-4108
  • La Paz County Attorney’s Office
    1320 Kofa Avenue
    Parker, AZ 85344
    (928) 669-6118
  • Maricopa County Attorney’s Office - Victim Compensation Bureau
    301 W. Jefferson, 9th Floor
    Phoenix, AZ 85003
    (602) 506-4955
  • Mohave County Attorney’s Office - Crime Victim Compensation Program
    P.O. Box 7000
    Kingman, AZ 86402-7000
    (928) 718-4967
  • Navajo County Attorney’s Office - Navajo County Victims Services
    P.O. Box 668
    Holbrook, AZ 86025
    (928) 524-4015
  • Pima County Attorney’s Office - Pima County Crime Victim Compensation Program
    32 N. Stone Ave., 14th Floor
    Tucson, AZ 85701
    (520) 740-5525
  • Pinal County Attorney’s Office - Pinal County Crime Victim Compensation Program
    P.O. Box 1798
    Florence, AZ 85132
    (520) 866-6805
  • Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office
    2150 N. Congress Dr., Suite 201
    Nogales, AZ 85621
    (520) 281-5868
  • Yavapai County Attorney’s Office - Victim Compensation
    255 E. Gurley St., 1st Floor
    Prescott, AZ 86301
    (928) 771-3485
  • Yuma County Attorney’s Office - Yuma Victim Services Division
    250 W. 2nd Street, Suite G
    Yuma, AZ 85364
    (928) 817-4300