The ICAOS specifically creates distinct rights for victims of crime and certain obligations on courts and supervising authorities with respect to those rights. While the Compact statute itself is general on the rights, the commission’s rules spell out specific obligations. Under Rule 3.108-1, victims of crime have a right to notice of an offender’s transfer. The notification requirement is triggered one business day after the issuance of reporting instructions by the receiving state. The sending state initiates notification procedures to related victims in accordance with its own state laws. Additionally, once an offender relocates, the receiving state shall respond to requests for offender information from the sending state within five (5) business days following the receipt of the request . 

    In addition to the right to various notifications, victims also have a right to appear and be heard and to express their concerns with an offender’s proposal to transfer supervision to another state.  See Rule 3.108. The obligation to notify the victim of the right to be heard rests with the victim notification authority in the sending state. However, it would seem only logical that courts and paroling authorities must apprise state victim notification authorities of a pending hearing for this right to have any meaning.  

    The responsibility for administering the rights given by the ICAOS to victims falls more on a state’s interstate Compact office rather than judicial officers and courts. However, courts should be aware of the various victim protections contained in the ICAOS and the commission’s rules to ensure full compliance by all parties.