§14-2A-2. Legislative findings; purpose and intent.
The Legislature finds and declares that a primary purpose of
government is to provide for the safety of citizens and the
inviolability of their property. To the extent that innocent
citizens are victims of crime, particularly violent crime, and
are without adequate redress for injury to their person or
property, this primary purpose of government is defeated. The
people of West Virginia are demonstrably peaceful, and, in
comparison to the citizens of other states, suffer a lower crime
rate. In establishing the West Virginia crime reparation act of
1981, the Legislature stated its findings that the provision of
governmental services to prevent crime is not wholly effective
and expressed its intent to establish a system of compensation
for the victims of crime which would provide a partial remedy for
the failure of the state to fully achieve this primary purpose of
government.
The Legislature now finds that the system of compensation
established by the act as an experimental effort by the
Legislature of this state on behalf of its people, after having
been reviewed and perfected in its initial stages, should be
continued and retained in the legislative branch of government as
an expression of a moral obligation of the state to provide
partial compensation to the innocent victims of crime for injury
suffered to their person or property.