The Crime Victims Fund Awards

Every year the Crime Victims Fund Awards are presented to recognize exemplary individuals whose work has improved the treatment of crime victims throughout the country and has demonstrated commitment to the mission of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). As part of the commemoration, the Attorney General honors individuals or teams whose extraordinary efforts have substantially improved federal criminal debt collection and increased deposits into the Crime Victims Fund.

About the Crime Victims Fund

The Crime Victims Fund was established by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984. Each year, millions of dollars are deposited into the Fund from criminal fines, forfeited bail bonds, penalty fees, and special assessments collected by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, U.S. Courts, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. These dollars come from federal criminals, not from taxpayers.

The Fund serves as a major funding source for victim services throughout the country. The Fund supports state crime victim compensation programs, as well as more than 4,700 local victim assistance agencies and services such as domestic violence shelters, children's advocacy centers, rape crisis programs, and criminal justice advocacy.

Deposits into the Fund fluctuate from year to year. From 1995 through 1999, the following amounts were deposited into the Fund:

1995: $233,907,256
1996: $528,941,562
1997: $362,891,434
1998: $324,038,486
1999: $985,185,354 (spending capped at $500 million)

Crime Victims Fund Awards emphasize the importance of the Fund and publicly recognize those professionals whose valuable work helps sustain it.

Award recipients will be honored at a special ceremony to be held in Washington, D.C. Past award recipients have included Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Financial Litigation Unit staff within U.S. Attorneys' Offices; Inmate Financial Responsibility Program staff within the Bureau of Prisons; debt collection agents of the U.S. Marshals Service; Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Immigration and Naturalization Service; staff of the U.S. Courts; and state government employees who have worked in partnership with one or more of the above categories of award recipients. More information on previous award recipients can be found on OVC's home page at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/.

Nomination Submission Guidelines

  1. Each nomination form (included with this announcement) must be accompanied by a nomination letter. If you, the nominator, are affiliated with an organization, your nomination letter should be submitted on official stationery and contain your signature, as well as your position/title. No anonymous nominations will be accepted.

  2. Each nomination form must include all requested information. If you are nominating an organization, provide the name, title, address, and phone number of the individual who would accept the award.

  3. Your nomination letter should fully reflect the extent of your nominee's accomplishments and services in support of the Fund. The selection of the Crime Victims Fund Awards recipients for 2000 will be based on the following criteria:

    • Innovative use of existing procedures or laws that promote awareness of the objectives of the Fund or result in increased deposits into the Fund.

    • Creation of new procedures, laws, or regulations that promote awareness of the objectives of the Fund or result in increased deposits into the Fund.

    • A consistent increase (over the year 2000) in deposits into the Fund due to aggressive management or collection practices.

    • Notable achievement in training staff about fine collection, which promotes awareness of the objectives of the Fund or results in increased deposits into the Fund.

    • Outstanding investigation to discover previously undisclosed assets resulting in increased deposits into the Fund.

  4. Your nomination package should include any additional information about the individual or program you are nominating that should be considered in the review process. Supporting documentation, such as newspaper articles or resumes, can be attached if it is pertinent to the nominee's contributions. Please note: Videos, bound publications, and notebooks should not be submitted. Only supporting documentation submitted with the nomination form will be accepted.

Eligibility Guidelines

  1. You may nominate candidates as individuals, programs, or teams.

  2. Candidates nominated in previous years are also eligible for consideration.

  3. Elected officials are not eligible for consideration.

Deadlines for Submitting Nominations

Your nomination form and supporting materials must be postmarked by Friday, January 26, 2001. Please mail one copy of the nomination package to:

Federal Crime Victims Division
Office for Victims of Crime
810 Seventh Street NW.
Washington, DC 20531
Attention: Fund Award

Nominations can also be faxed to OVC at 202-514-6383.


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This document was last updated on May 29, 2008