7. Victims.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, victims’ records are not government records, except that a victim of a crime shall have access to the victim’s own records.

N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 contains the following definitions:

"Victim's record" means an individually-identifiable file or document held by a victims' rights agency which pertains directly to a victim of a crime except that a victim of a crime shall have access to the victim's own records.

"Victim of a crime" means a person who has suffered personal or psychological injury or death or incurs loss of or injury to personal or real property as a result of a crime, or if such a person is deceased or incapacitated, a member of that person's immediate family.

N.J.A.C. 10A:22-2.1 provides:

   (a) Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-2.2 , a person convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of this State, any other state or the United States shall be denied access to a government record if the record contains personal information pertaining to the person's victim(s) or family member(s) of a victim(s).

(b) An exception to (a) above may be made only if a court, upon motion by the requester or his or her representative, has determined that the information is necessary to assist in the defense of the requester. The inmate or representative thereof shall submit the determination by the court to the custodian of records for review and release authorization determination.