 Crime harms people, and it should be our goal to repair that damage. Victims of crime are often ignored in our justice system. Most offenders are not held accountable to repay their victims.
That’s because our criminal justice system defines crime as an offense against the state, not
against the victim. You can see this in the way criminal cases are titled: The State v. Defendant. Crime is defined as “law breaking” rather than “victim harming,” and the purpose of the criminal justice system is to maintain order by punishing the offenders for breaking the law and trying to ensure that they do not break the law again. Unfortunately, this leaves the victim out in the cold.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), Jesus made clear that crime victims are our neighbors; that it is our responsibility to bind their wounds and care for them until they are healed. Victims may sustain physical injury, monetary loss, and emotional suffering. The crime may disrupt their lives temporarily—or for as long as they live. To be victimized is to feel powerless, and victims often need help regaining an appropriate sense of control over their lives. Victims also need to be vindicated—declared “not guilty” of being victimized.
You can provide practical, emotional, and spiritual assistance to victims of crime. Some of the ways you can help victims are:
- Provide immediate relief, such as food, lodging, house cleaning, medical care, and crime-scene cleanup.
- Accompany them to court; let them know you are there to support them.
- Keep them informed of the status of their case.
- Drive them to doctors’ appointments.
- Help them complete applications for reimbursement for losses from victim restitution funds.
- Make their home more secure.
- Spend time with them. Companionship is important.
- Listen to them and make sure they realize that they are not at fault and did not deserve what happened to them.
- Pray with them.
- Find out how they can be informed of any parole hearing on their case.
It is important that you do not tell them that they must forgive the offender. At the appropriate time, the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts. It is not up to us to push them toward forgiveness.
Whether or not the court has required restitution for the crime, morally the offenders should take steps, as appropriate, to repair the harm they have done. In Luke 19:8-9:
Zacchaeus [the corrupt tax collector] stood up and said to Jesus, "Look, Lord . . . if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house."
This is justice: In the face of devastation brought by crime, God calls His people to restore, to rebuild, and to facilitate right relationships.
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