Ed. Note: The following press release is courtesy of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. 

Only 20,000 crime victims in Los Angeles County received services last year, while the number of violent crime victims alone exceeded 45,000, according to a report by District Attorney officials.

To help serve more victims, a motion by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich to increase the staff of the District Attorney’s victim services program was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors.

“Victims of crime are subjected to physical, emotional and financial harm through no fault of their own,” said Antonovich. “Increasing the resources for direct services to victims ensures that they are not victimized again by the system.”

Antonovich’s motion allocated full funding for 15 positions and directed the Interim Chief Executive Officer to report back in 60 days with recommendations to fill other gaps in services for victims.

The second part of the motion establishing a mechanism for collecting restitution on behalf of victims of AB 109 offenders was continued to September 15, 2015.