Victims of Crime
If you have a current application before Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and have questions about the process please contact our office.
Changes affecting victims of violent crime
As of October 1, 2019, the Ontario government is replacing Criminal Injuries Compensation for victims of violent crime with the Victim Quick Response Program+. This new program may help pay for certain expenses if a victim has no other money to pay for them. Victims of violent crime must apply to the Victim Quick Response Program+ (VQRP+). The VQRP+ is run by the government and may be able to help pay for certain expenses people have because they're victims of a crime of violence. The VQRP+ decides who qualifies and how much money they get. Because it's a new program, there are many unknowns.
Victims may include people who are direct victims of a crime, their immediate family members, and witnesses of a crime. To get most kinds of help from the VQRP+, a victim must show that:
- they have no financial resources to pay the expenses that they're asking the VQRP+ to cover, and
- there are no publicly funded programs that can meet their needs.
To get assistance from the VQRP+, a victim must first report the crime to the police, or, in some cases, they can report to:
- a domestic violence shelter
- a sexual assault centre
- a child protection authority
- a hospital
- an Indigenous social service provider
- a community agency providing services to victims in Ontario
The VQRP+ has strict rules about who can qualify for help. For example, a victim, except for a direct victim of human trafficking, cannot get help from the VQRP+ if they were also charged by the police as a result of the incident. Police sometimes charge both people in cases of intimate partner violence. The VQRP+ pays for:
- funeral expenses
- crime scene cleanup
- some emergency expenses, for example, doing home safety repairs and installing motion sensors and deadbolt locks
- counselling or traditional Indigenous healing that provides immediate, short-term support, and transportation costs to attend
The VQRP+ can pay for:
- funeral expenses, up to $5,000
- crime scene cleanup, up to $1,500
- emergency expenses, up to $1,000
- counselling services, approximately 10 sessions or up to $1,000
The VQRP+ says their goal is to process requests within 3-10 business days. There are very strict and short timelines for applying, 45 days in some cases.
For more information or to apply to the VQRP+, people should contact their local VQRP+ service delivery organization, or they can call the Victim Support Line at 1-888-579-2888 or 416-314-2447.
The Steps to Justice website has information for victims of crime.