Crime victims need a long -term financing solution

So far, the Senate of Minnesota and the governor Tim Walz have submitted three different recommendations to finance victim services of crime services in this legislative period. Ultimately, none of these proposals deals with the need to collapse the federal financing that has been lasting in 2018, but they represent an important and estimated investment at the state level. In addition, the legislators' suggestions contain an important new instrument to ensure long -term financing.

The Minnesota victims of Crime Account or MN-VOCA denied the laws of Rep. Kelly Moller and Senator Clare Oumou who enter into public security and justice, omnibus law templates, in the conference committee, set up a special input account and aim at the account. The financing of the account can be used for grants to victims' service providers for direct services and attorney for victims of sexual attacks, general crime, domestic violence and child abuse.

While they hear a lot about Democrats and Republicans who do not agree to much in a shared legislator this year, the protection and support of victim services of crime is a silver strip with cross-party leadership and the commitment to become better through the creation and financing of an MN-VOCA. In this way, our legislators follow the police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors in the permanent company in order to create a future in which the promise of security and support is fulfilled in good time and comprehensively.

We ask the continued leadership to ensure that we do not leave victims and therefore hope for a better future behind it.

Dawanna Witt is a 25-year-old veteran of law enforcement and serves her first term as a sheriff of Hennepin County. Article Roller is the managing director of the Cornerstone Advocacy Service and a 21-year-old veteran of the leadership and provision of trauma-informed victim services.