N.J. Admin. Code § 13:75-4.7 - Relocation

(a) The Office may award compensation for expenses incurred as a result of the relocation of a victim and his or her family, due to the incident forming the basis of the victim's claim where the Office determines there is a need to protect the health and safety of the victim and/or his or her family and that all other statutory requirements for eligibility are met. For purposes of this subsection, the term "victim" shall include a witness, that is, a person who witnessed the commission of any of the offenses listed under section 11 of P.L. 1971, c. 317 (N.J.S.A. 52:4B-11) and who has been threatened as a result.

(b) In determining the need, the Office may take into consideration:

1. The nature of the crime;

2. The amount of danger the offender or others who may be associated with the offender pose to the victim and/or his or her family;

3. The degree of injury the victim sustained;

4. The criminal case history of the offender and the offender's record while incarcerated;

5. Prior acts of the offender;

6. The efforts the victim and/or his or her family have undertaken in order to protect themselves from further harm;

7. The offender's sentence and period of incarceration, whether for the crime forming the basis of the claim filed with the Office or through a plea bargain on related or unrelated charges;

8. The emotional, psychological, and physical impact on the victim and/or his or her family which may result through a failure to relocate; and

9. Any other relevant factors.

(c) Compensation for moving expenses shall be paid for relocation of victim's family solely where the victim resided with the family at the time of the incident and, except where the crime resulted in the death of the victim, the victim relocated to the new premises with the family.

(d) Maximum reimbursement for moving expenses shall be $ 3,000.

1. Related moving expenses may include truck rental, security deposit, temporary shelter, personal expense items of the claimant that the Office deems to be reasonable and necessary under the circumstances, moving services, monthly rental and mortgage cost differential, first month's rent, one month's rent if the relocation occurred within one year of filing of the application, and, subject to any limitations set forth in this chapter, the cost of no more than five days shelter and lodging in a location other than the residence wherein the crime scene is located and which has been vacated due to the need to clean the crime scene.

2. In the event a victim is unable to relocate due to home ownership or other personal circumstances, the Office may apply the $ 3,000 allotted for moving expenses towards the victim's purchase of a security alarm system, new door locks, or any other reasonable home security device(s), needed for the purpose of protecting the health and safety of the victim and the victim's family.

(e) A victim or claimant may only seek compensation for moving expenses once for each claim filed with the Office.

(f) This section shall also apply to situations involving organized gangs where the claimant is requested to testify on behalf of the State of New Jersey in a criminal prosecution and the claimant is placed in fear for his or her safety due to terroristic threats or other criminal activity. The facts supporting eligibility for compensation under this section may be established through certification by a member of the State of New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice or a county prosecutor's office attesting to same.

(g) Due to the emergent need of relocation funds in many situations, any time consuming documentation proof requirements may be lessened at the Office's discretion.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:75-4.7

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 841(a), effective 2/5/2018 Amended by 53 N.J.R. 1852(c), effective 11/1/2021