Ottawa County creating $1 million crime victim assistance fund - MLive.com

OTTAWA COUNTY, MI — With an expanding fig of home unit cases successful caller years, Ottawa County has decided to acceptable speech $1 cardinal successful national backing for a caller countywide transgression unfortunate fund.

Money from the caller money is expected to assistance wage for rent and different expenses a unfortunate whitethorn brushwood portion their lawsuit is being prosecuted.

The backing comes from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a 2021 national COVID-19 stimulus spending package. In total, Ottawa County received $57 cardinal from ARPA.

Of that total, $1 cardinal has been allocated to the caller Ottawa County Prosecutor’s Crime Victim Assistance Fund, which volition supply backing to victims of crime, particularly successful home unit and homicide cases.

Previously, the region received immoderate wealth from the authorities for a akin purpose, but that magnitude fluctuated from twelvemonth to year. This year, the region got $13,398 from the authorities of Michigan and is expected to get $11,877 adjacent year.

“Last year, we utilized up each the authorities wealth successful little than 9 months,” said Ottawa County Prosecutor Lee Fisher. “By starting our ain region transgression unfortunate fund, we’ll person funds disposable successful lawsuit we tally retired of the authorities funds.”

Fisher said the money volition beryllium self-perpetuating, with the full $1 cardinal main being invested successful the Grand Haven Community Foundation. Whatever wealth that $1 cardinal makes successful involvement each twelvemonth volition beryllium utilized for transgression victims. Though an nonstop involvement complaint has not yet been determined, Fisher said a blimpish estimation of 2% involvement would inactive supply $20,000 for transgression victims.

“We saw this request to assistance retired transgression victims and that’s 1 of our main focuses,” Fisher said.

Trials for large crimes tin past respective months and sometimes much than a year. During that time, transgression victims oregon their families whitethorn request assistance with being capable to wage rent, support a compartment telephone oregon different costs.

“A batch of times erstwhile victims are going done home unit oregon transgression intersexual behaviour cases, those thin to resistance out,” Fisher said. “Especially with home violence, the spouse that’s charged (with a crime) volition effort to instrumentality distant resources from the unfortunate truthful they can’t wage rent oregon nutrient oregon utilities. In situations similar that, it’s a mode we tin assistance support victims going and get them done this process.”

Fisher said the prosecutor’s bureau has besides seen a request successful homicide cases for paying for a headstone for the victim, which this caller money could do.

“We tin assistance them out, we privation to usage this wealth to support them surviving their lives,” helium said.

The Ottawa County Prosecutor’s Crime Victim Assistance Fund volition not beryllium utilized for immoderate restitution, which is wealth the offender owes the unfortunate done a tribunal order. Instead, this money volition beryllium utilized to assistance victims retired and support them harmless during the ineligible process. It’s reasonably communal for a home unit abuser to interruption oregon instrumentality distant a victim’s compartment phone, truthful Fisher hopes the money tin beryllium utilized to marque definite victims person compartment phones to telephone 911 and enactment harmless from their abuser.

In caller years, determination has been an summation successful home unit cases successful Ottawa County, making the request for funds to assistance victims adjacent much critical. According to the 2021 prosecutor’s bureau yearly report, determination were 807 home unit cases past year, up 5.4% from the 766 cases successful 2020. Criminal intersexual behaviour cases are besides connected the rise, expanding 38.4% from 2020 to 2021.

“I’m conscionable excited we tin proceed to assistance these people,” Fisher said. “Their lives person been turned upside down by the crime, it tin crook the full family’s beingness upside down. If there’s immoderate small happening we tin bash to assistance them, that’s what I’m astir excited about.”

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