Other Commonly Asked Questions Crime Victim Compensation Victims and the Media Glossary Introduction Forget what you've seen on TV or in the movies. Crime and its effects are seldom tied up in an hour or two.
Crime disrupts the health, personal outlook and relationships of victims.
They face physical injury, emotional harm and financial hardship and they often struggle to cope with periods of shock and adjustment. In 1976 the Wisconsin Legislature passed a law allowing monetary compensation for crime victims. In 1980, Wisconsin became the first state in the nation to create a Crime Victims' Bill of Rights. Lawmakers wanted all crime victims and witnesses to be treated with dignity, respect, courtesy and sensitivity. They felt the rights of crime victims and witnesses in Wisconsin should be protected as vigorously as the rights of criminal defendants.