§ 15B-30. Declaration of policy and purpose. - North Carolina Statutes

Article 2.

The Crime VictimsFinancial Recovery Assistance Act.

§ 15B‑30.  Declarationof policy and purpose.

The General Assembly of NorthCarolina hereby declares as a matter of public policy that:

(1)        No person whocommits a crime should thereafter gain monetary profit as the result ofcommitting the crime.

(2)        Victims of crimehave a special relationship to any profit from the crime committed againstthem, including the personal belongings and memorabilia of a convicted felonwhose criminal actions and resulting notoriety enhance the value of thosebelongings and memorabilia.

(3)        To the extent profitfrom crime would not have been realized but for an offender's commission ofillegal acts, an offender does not have an equitable interest in the profit andallowing the offender to retain the profit would result in the offender'sunjust enrichment.

The General Assembly findsthat the State has a compelling interest in ensuring that persons convicted ofcrimes do not profit from those crimes, and that victims of crime arecompensated by those who have harmed them.

The General Assembly furtherfinds that crime victims have difficulty satisfying restitution orders or civiljudgments entered against their offenders because the victims often lack theexpertise and resources to identify or locate assets that an offender may have.

In order to carry out thispublic policy and to satisfy these compelling interests, the General Assemblyhas enacted the provisions of this Article providing a mechanism by which crimevictims are notified of the existence of an offender's assets and areauthorized to bring an action to recover those assets. (2004‑159, s. 2.)