St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office - Victims of Crime Assistance

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office - Sheriff Rodney "Jack" Strain, Jr.

Louisiana Commission of Law Enforcement Crime Victims Reparations Program
ACT 250 OR 1982, LA. R.S. 46: 1801-1822

Effective July 1982, the State of Louisiana established a program for the payment of compensation to the victims of certain crimes. The law, known as the Crime Victims Reparations Act, created the Crime Victims Reparations Board and established the Crime Victims Reparations Fund. The Board administers the Act's provisions and awards payments from the fund. Income for the fund is composed primarily of monies paid as costs levied on criminal court costs. Funds are supplemented by federal grant, court ordered restitution from criminals, donations and interest.

Eligibility to Apply for Awards, you may apply if you:

Believe you are a victim of a violent crime.
Are the victim's legal representative (his attorney or the person legally
responsible for the expenses).
Are the victim's dependent.
A claim may be filed regardless of whether the offender is known, has been
arrested, and/or has been found guilty.

The Crime Must:

Involve the USE OF FORCE or threat of use of force AND
Result in PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH OR CATASTROPHIC PROPERTY LOSS AND
Result in expenses allowed by the statue and not reimbursable from ANY other
source.

Vehicular Crimes (motor vehicle, boat or aircraft) are not included unless you are:

The victim of a DWI driver.
The victim of a hit and run driver
The victim of a driver who is fleeing the scene of a crime in which he knowingly participated.
The victim whose injuries were intentionally inflicted with a vehicle.

Application Requirements:

The crime must have been committed after July 16, 1982 and occurred in Louisiana or in a state or country with no compensation program.
You must have reported the crime to law enforcement officials within 72 hours unless there was a good cause for filing late.
You must file the application within one year from the date of the crime unless there was good cause for filing late.
You must provide the required information on the application.
Your losses must not be reimbursable from any other source such as insurance, sick or annual leave, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, civil suit. or restitution. If you have access to any of these resources, you must use those first.
You must cooperate with the reasonable requests of law enforcement officials.

You may not receive an award if:

You do not comply with the application requirements above.
You are the offender or an accessory, or an award would unjustly benefit either.
You are confined in any type of correctional facility.

Your award could be denied or reduced if:

The Board finds the implication of your behavior at the time of the crime or your past criminal activity cause or contributed to the incident.
The victim had a criminal history which included a felony conviction in the last five years.
You were a willing passenger in a vehicle driven by an intoxicated driver.
You are operating a vehicle at the time of the crime without the required insurance.
You were not wearing a seat belt as required.

Reimbursable Expenses
Expenses for which you may be reimbursed include those:

As a result of injury:
a) for personal injury: medical, hospital, dental, nursing, physical therapy,
psychiatric care, or mental health counseling.
b) actual loss of past earnings because of a disability resulting from the
personal injury;
c) care of child(ren) enabling a victim or the spouse, but not both, to engage
in gainful employment.
As a consequence of death:
a) funeral, burial or cremation expenses;
b) loss or support to one or more dependants not otherwise compensated for
personal injury loss;
c) care of child(ren) enabling the surviving spouse or legal guardian of
deceased victim's children to engage in lawful employment, where that
expense is not otherwise compensated for personal injury loss;
d) counseling or therapy for any surviving family member of the victim or
co-habitor of such victim.
From catastrophic loss of your home by arson.
Expenses of the victim associated with the collection and securing of crime
scene evidence.

Non-Reimbursable Expenses
Expense which are not reimbursed for any reason include:

Property loss except for a catastrophic property loss that is limited to the loss of your current residence provided it is owned and occupied by you.
Pain and suffering
Attorney fees except when they are part of an order from a hearing or awarded by a court of law.

How to Apply:

Call (225) 925-4437 or 1-888-6-VICTIM (in state only)

Applications can be obtained from:

Any Louisiana Sheriff's Office (St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office) Each parish sheriff has a designated contact person in his office. Sheriff Strains' contact coordinator, Gail Bruce at 875-2112 or call 892-4141.

Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement The Crime Victims Reparations Board Office - 1885 Wooddale Blvd., Room 708, Baton Rouge, La. 70806

Completed applications are to be returned to the Sheriff's Office in the parish where the crime occurred. Any doubt call the contact person for the Sheriff's Office or the board at the above numbers.