Sacramento, CA…California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced that the department’s Unknown Victims Unit successfully located 2,018 victims and dispersed more than $2.52 million in 2013.

CDCR’s Unknown Victims Unit was created in 2010 in response to the amount of money CDCR was collecting from inmates on behalf of victims but was unable to disburse due to incomplete or outdated victim contact information.

Victim restitution is ordered by a county Superior Court judge and is to be paid by offenders to compensate victims. If an inmate owes restitution to his/her victim(s), CDCR collects half of what the inmate earns in prison jobs and half of what family or friends contribute to the inmate’s prison accounts.

Sometimes the information forwarded to CDCR by the counties lacks critical victim contact information; other times victims do not update the court or CDCR how they can be reached. The Unknown Victims Unit takes what information is available and attempts to locate the victim and notify him/her that money has been collected on their behalf.

If you are a victim of a crime, have been ordered restitution from a Superior Court judge, and have not been receiving the funds, please contact your local district attorney’s office and make sure they have your updated contact information.