We like to think support is there for victims of crime but, unfortunately, certain instances fall through the cracks.
Take the case of Vivian Dunphy, a widowed senior citizen in Denmark, Colchester County. Her car, a 2011 Kia Rio, was stolen last December while she was visiting in Hilden. That it was recovered sometime later in Calgary should be cause for some consolation, if only the story ended there.
Because of the distance, having it shipped back home would cost more than $2,000. The woman’s son, Dennis Dunphy, mounted a crowdfunding effort to try to get the money together. The City of Calgary had served notice that if the car is not physically claimed, it will be auctioned off; with a deadline of two weeks, the family is making a last-ditch appeal to raise the total needed.
Granted, there has been some dispensation that acknowledges the unfortunate circumstances. The City of Calgary did agree to waive the impound and towing fees for the vehicle, which otherwise would mount to another $2,000.
But the timeline is approaching a point of desperation. Dunphy’s son told the Truro Daily News that he would pretty much have to have the funds lined up by this week to allow time to make arrangements for having the car shipped.
Anyone who wants to assist can log on to gofundme.com and search “Help bring mom’s stolen car home,” or email Dunphy at fitnesspro22forever@gmail.com
The Dunphys did get offers from people willing to drive the car back from Calgary in exchange for expenses. But it’s a task they’re not comfortable to leave up to strangers.
Appealing to the public’s general sympathy for a rotten situation is one way to go, and we wish the family well.
The dilemma represents a large financial strain. The woman still owes $6,000 on her car loan, which she will have to pay even if it should be auctioned and she is left empty-handed. Dennis Dunphy describes the ordeal as his mother being penalized after a crime has been committed against her.
People often muse about victims’ rights, and what’s in place to help them after an injury or crime involving property loss or damage.
Courts across the country, upon convicting lawbreakers, routinely add a victim surcharge to a fine levied. That money, however, goes into a Victim Fund, which is used to support activities, organizations or programs that promote justice and other such initiatives. It’s not meant to recompense victims of a crime, for example, in recovering property.
There’s nothing in place, apparently, to help people make right a bad situation, even involving unusual circumstances, such as in this case.
Yet the justice system has to bend over backward to see that someone accused of a crime has every right upheld.
And that’s fair game. But let’s see the same consideration accorded to someone suffering from a crime and not in a position to restore their loss.
