For many crime survivors, enduring a violent crime is only the beginning of the trauma and loss that they will experience. 

Mothers whose young children are murdered often cannot afford to properly bury them. Sexual assault survivors often face debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, which can spiral into lost jobs and housing. People experiencing domestic abuse often don’t have the resources to relocate to a safe place.

These kinds of urgent needs have inspired the creation of trauma recovery centers, such as Southern California Crossroads in Los Angeles. Facilities like Crossroads provide free services, like mental health treatment and legal advocacy, and they connect people to other resources, like help filing police reports and accessing job and housing support. 

The problem is that, across the country, there are very few trauma recovery centers relative to the amount of need. According to Crime Survivors For Safety and Justice, among their network of over 70,000 crime survivors, “fewer than 1 in 3 receive the kind of help they would need to recover from the crime.” Despite the “substantial increases in criminal justice expenditures over the last three decades, the majority of crime survivors do not receive support to recover from harm.”

The degree of this unmet need is puzzling given the significant effort  that political leaders dedicate to courting crime victims and promising to put their needs first. 

One possible explanation for the gap between the need and the available resources is simply that the public does not support the more granular policies and funding priorities that would adequately address the problem. 

Or it could be that political leaders equate supporting crime survivors only with accountability measures for the person who committed the crime. To be clear, accountability is critical, and it’s sorely lacking even for the most serious crimes like shootings and murders. But the need for crime survivors to cover costs, address trauma, and prevent the loss of their jobs and homes is equally acute. 

To better understand public opinion on policy and budget priorities around the needs of crime survivors, Safer Cities conducted a survey of 1,223 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents on the Data for Progress infrastructure. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.

KEY FINDINGS:

• 82% of likely voters support the creation of trauma recovery centers that provide mental health, crisis intervention, legal and other services to victims who were shot, sexually assaulted, or endured domestic violence, at no cost to the patient.

• 89% of likely voters say it is important for survivors of violent crime to be provided with mental health services, such as trauma-informed therapy.

• 85% of likely voters say it is important that survivors of violent crime be provided with mental health services, such as trauma-informed therapy for the family members of the crime survivor. 

• 86% of likely voters say it is important that survivors of violent crime be provided legal support for filing police reports and accessing victim compensation funds.

• 83% of likely voters say it is important that survivors of violent crime have costs covered for funerals, for example, when a child is murdered and the parents need to cover burial costs.

• 82% of likely voters say it is important that survivors of violent crime have lost wages covered when they cannot work for a period of time.

• 86% of likely voters say it is important for survivors of violent crime to have costs covered for relocation when they face a continued physical safety threat.

• 76% of likely voters say it is important for survivors of violent crime to have costs covered for transportation to and from medical appointments, court dates, and other similar events.

• 85% of likely voters say it is important for survivors of violent crime to have housing costs covered when needed to provide protection to violent crime victims, witnesses, and their family members.

CONCLUSION:

Voters strongly support prioritizing programs and services to meet the needs of crime survivors, including mental health services, the costs of relocation when their safety is threatened, and for transportation to and from medical appointments, court dates, and other similar events.

This reality presents a clear opportunity for political leaders. 

First, no politician has ever lost votes for garnering the support of crime survivors, and what survivors need most is also deeply popular with voters across partisanship, race, gender, and educational attainment. 

More importantly, this issue is central to a city’s ability to deliver justice. People who experience violent crime deserve to be able to access government resources  to help them heal. 

Finally, it’s an issue that goes directly to a city’s ability to keep people safe. Crime, especially gun violence, is often cyclical—the person who endures harm today becomes the person perpetuating harm tomorrow. Providing resources to crime survivors to de-escalate crisis situations, address trauma, and restore their economic stability is a necessary and popular crime-fighting strategy.