Currently, the only responsibility the Government has to the victim is to apprehend, convict, and punish the offender. This retributive theory of criminal justice is, however, not sufficient to ensure justice for the victim. The cost theory postulates that in addition to controlled retribution, the social system is responsible for making the victim whole again -- returning him to his original economic, psychological, and physical state, if possible. The failure of society to meet these costs of victimization will lead to alienation and other negative consequences. To determine the net psychological and economic costs of crime, a statewide victimization study was conducted in Minnesota. A total of 700 victims, representative of the entire population of victims, were selected at random from police departments throughout the State and stratified according to the crimes of burglary, violence, and auto theft. The data indicated that victims of all three crimes suffered substantial net losses. The greatest cost burden of crime fell upon the lower income groups since insurance, often unavailable to the poor, is the only remedy that has a significant impact in reducing these costs. Two primary methods of implementing the cost theory of victim justice are currently available: restitution and compensation. Although the data indicated a potential for increased use of victim restitution, such method is clearly not the ultimate answer. The most apparent alternative would be a State-sponsored compensation program, such as that used in Minnesota, or a combined restitution-subsidized private insurance model. A cost theory of victim justice should be seriously considered in any case. Tabular data and 12 notes are included.