AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
The N.C. Department of Public Safety declined to release detailed data on crime victim compensation applications last week, citing privacy laws, in what some experts believe is an overly broad interpretation of the law.
Read more Brittany Cartwright Claims Ex Jax Was Aggressive at Son’s School Orientation
The Crime Victims Compensation Fund, funded by state and federal money, is run by the Office of Victim Compensation Services, which falls under the Department of Public Safety. It reimburses survivors of violent crimes and the loved ones of homicide victims for expenses like funerals, therapy and lost wages, according to its website.
Though statewide data on the program is available online and in an annual report submitted to the General Assembly, it’s nearly impossible to examine applications at the county level. The Office of Victim Compensation Services only provides the General Assembly with county-level data on the number of applications received, approved and rejected and the amount of money the program spent on approved claims.
In an effort to better understand how different counties in North Carolina interact with the program, The News & Observer requested all county-level data collected by the Office of Victim Compensation Services in June. Such data would allow the public to analyze claims at the county level to better understand how each county benefits from the program.
The department responded last month that it didn’t collect data in that way, then clarified last week that it did collect some county-level data, but data for 2025 was missing after a glitch in switching claim management systems.
The N&O then requested all crime victim compensation applications from fiscal years 2023 to 2025, with personally identifying information redacted. The Department of Public Safety denied that request last week.
“Statute 15B-8.1(b) classifies those records as confidential, except for the total amount awarded a victim or claimant,” public records lead Ellaina Bryant wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, we are unable to fulfill your requests.”
Ashley Fox, an associate attorney with Raleigh law firm Stevens Martin Vaughn & Tadych, told The N&O she finds that interpretation of the law overly broad.
Fox, who provides legal assistance to journalists through the North Carolina Press Association’s Legal Hotline, noted the federal law cited in the state statute governing the application records doesn’t say all applicant information is confidential.
Read more Man Accused of Posing as 49ers Player in $1.3M Fraud Scheme Targeting Women
North Carolina’s state law on crime victim compensation applications references 18 U.S.C. § 2725(3) as the basis for how it defines “personal information” that must be kept confidential. That federal law, Fox explained, only deems categories like Social Security number, individual names, photographs and driver’s license numbers as confidential. In fact, it specifically exempts from confidentiality broader demographic information like sex, race and ZIP code.
“To the extent that compensation applications include both confidential and nonconfidential information, N.C.G.S. § 132-6(c) requires NCDPS to review and redact the confidential information, at NCDPS’s expense, and produce the nonconfidential information,” Fox wrote in an email to The N&O.
The state’s failure to do so is an example of a growing trend of government opacity in North Carolina, according to Pate McMichael, director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition and a journalism professor at Elon University.
“North Carolina is a state that’s going in the wrong direction big time when it comes to public records access,” McMichael said. “They’ve already made law enforcement records, criminal investigative records, nearly impossible to get, even when cases have been closed for long periods of time — cleared, as they would say.”
McMichael agreed the state’s interpretation of the statute seemed overly broad.
“These types of privacy restrictions are making it much harder for anybody to scrutinize what the government’s actually doing,” he said. “It is very difficult to ascertain how they’re going about the process of deciding who gets compensation and who doesn’t, and by denying even redacted applications for these types of compensation, it’s much harder to see if there’s a bias in the system.”
Marcia Owen, a Durham advocate who has worked with homicide victims’ families for decades, said the state’s refusal to provide such information also makes it harder for the families she wants to help.
“The fact that the state is not collecting or disclosing information on applications, awards and denials, reasons cited for denials, and amounts awarded is creating an additional injustice to individuals and communities directly bearing the burden of violence,” Owen said in an email. “It is cruel and irresponsible to withhold or discount information that would assist us immediately in the care of grieving families.”
NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email [email protected].
Read more Busy Philipps Laughs Off Rumors She’s ‘Living on Borrowed Time’ After Tumor
This story was originally published August 28, 2026 at 5:30 AM.