DECEMBER 12, 1996
Raleigh - More than $700,000 from Department of Correction prison industry and inmate canteen funds will be paid into the state crime victims compensation fund this month.
"Governor Hunt wants better treatment for crime victims and this is one way prisoners can be required to assist victims," said Correction Secretary Franklin Freeman. "Part of the money paid into the victims's fund comes from prison labor."
The Hunt administration initiatives became law in 1994 and resulted in a 1995 payment of $484,773 and 1996 payment of $706,692 from the Department of Correction into the crime victims's fund.
Correction Enterprises employs more than 2,000 inmates in 30 prison industries such as the highway sign plant and the paint plant. Correction Enterprises's contribution to the fund is based on revenues generated from the purchase by public agencies of inmate-made products.
Prison canteens allow inmates to purchase toiletries, snacks and other items. Profits from these sales go into the canteen fund. Part of the profits, $15 per state prison inmate, is paid into the crime victims's fund.
"This money helps us meet the needs of crime victims who have filed claims with us," said Gary B. Eichelberger, director of the N.C. Division of Victim & Justice Services. "It's been a big plus for our program. For every dollar North Carolina puts into the fund, federal victims' assistance programs add another forty cents."
The state crime victims's compensation fund reimburses citizens who suffer medical expenses and lost wages as a result of being an innocent victim of a crime committed in North Carolina. For more information on the fund, contact the Crime Victims Compensation Program of the Division of Victim & Justice Services of the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety at 1-800-826-6200 or (919) 733-7974.
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