Report No. 2007-25
May 2007

The following issues were noted in an audit conducted by our office of the Crime Victims' Compensation Program.

Missouri state law authorizes the Crime Victims' Compensation Program to assist victims who suffer actual bodily harm as a direct result of a crime.  The program, adopted in 1981, has been located within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation and the Department of Public Safety.   By Executive Order 07-07, the Program will be located entirely within the Department of Public Safety effective August 28, 2007.  The program consists of the Crime Victims' Compensation Fund (CVCF), the Services to Victims Fund (SVF), and the State Forensic Laboratory Fund (SFLF). 

The Department of Revenue (DOR) has not correctly allocated surcharge collections from the circuit courts between the CVCF and the SVF since the law establishing the allocation process changed in August 2001.  According to DOR records, these collections totaled about $2,869,000 and $2,357,000 for the years ended June 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

The DOR did not always deduct the expenses of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the operating costs of the crime victim notification system when determining the net collections for allocation to the SVF.  After correctly deducting $250,000 each year for the SFLF from total collections, the DOR allocated the remaining collections to the two funds, without first deducting the required expenses. 

We have determined that approximately $1,074,000 is due from the SVF to the CVCF for incorrect allocations of the revenues during the two years ended June 30, 2006, and up to $178,000 is due for similar activity during the three years prior to July 1, 2004.  In addition, similar adjustments will be needed for collections already allocated during the current fiscal year.

Complete Audit Report