Victim Rights Act
Compliance Program

The purpose of the Victim Rights Act (VRA) Compliance Program at the Office for Victims Programs is to ensure that victims of VRA crimes are afforded their rights as enumerated in the VRA, including the right to be heard at specific stages in the criminal justice process and to be informed of and present at critical stages in the criminal justice process. If it is determined that a victim of crime has not been afforded his or her rights under the VRA, efforts are made to change the criminal justice system to prevent future failures to provide a victim with his or her rights. As a result, the goal of the VRA compliance process is ensuring that victims of crime throughout the state are afforded their constitutional and statutory rights through the implementation, in collaboration with criminal justice agencies and/or as a result of a VRA complaint, of necessary systemic changes.  Victims of VRA crimes have the right to be informed about accessing the VRA compliance process when they have concerns that their rights under the VRA have been violated by a criminal justice agency such as law enforcement, a district attorney’s office, probation, the court and corrections.  Victims of VRA crimes can contact the VRA Compliance Program at the Office for Victims Programs and make an informal request for assistance and/or file a formal complaint concerning an alleged violation of their rights.  The VRA Subcommittee, part of the larger Crime Victim Services Advisory Board, makes the final determinations as to whether a victim’s rights as enumerated in the VRA have been violated.

For more information about the crimes covered by the Victim Rights Act, and the responsibilities of criminal justice agencies, click on the Crime Victims Have Rights link on the right side of this page.

To view a list of questions designed to assist you in deciding whether to file a formal complaint, click on the Questions to Assist You in Deciding to File a Formal Complaint.

If you would like a copy of the formal Victim Rights Act complaint form, click on the Victim Rights Complaint Form link on the right side of this page.

If you would like to read the Victim Rights Act in its entirety, click on the Colorado’s Victim Rights Act links on the right side of this page.