Action for Safety and Justice

Action for Safety and Justice (AFSJ) celebrated 12 legislative and budget wins in FY 2023-2024, despite an escalation of regressive measures and misinformation about root causes of crime in statehouses and in the media. A few highlights include: Arizona:After passing off the Senate floor unanimously, HB 3055,our probation credits bill,was signed by Gov. Katie Dobbs, and reformsprobation to improve outcomes by authorizing early terminationfor people who maintain employment.We estimate that as a result of this bill, 56,000 peoplewill be eligible to earn credits and may see their supervision terms reduced. This bill could also reduce the supervision population by thousands. Texas:SB 49 was signed into law and ensures that victims compensationcovers relocation costs for all survivors, increases caps on the amount of support a survivor can receive for relocation help and bereavement lost wages, and expands eligibility to household members of victims. We estimate that thousands more victims annuallywill receive benefits. Federal:After years of advocacy exposing the barriers victims, especiallyvictims of color and victims with old criminal legal records, face to accessing emergency help the federal Office for Victims of Crime just proposed changes to victim compensation regulations. This is a major victory for our members and for racial equalityand stability/mobility for people most harmed by violence and justice system bias. The proposed changes have the potential to dramatically improve access to victim compensation for millions of survivors, helping to curb victimization debt and help people recover in the aftermath of trauma. We are thrilled to see OVC taking bold steps to expand access and eliminate racial disparities in victim compensation.A few of the proposed changes to the victims compensation program include: a.) Prohibiting states from denying claims based on criminal history, b.)Revising eligibility requirements to explicitly state a police report is not necessary and that the survivors cooperation with law enforcement need not be an eligibility restriction, and c.)Clarifying that state programs should not claw back money survivors receive from crowdfunding sources such as GoFundMe, among other changes.