After reviewing enabling legislation for Dutch victim compensation schemes, the paper analyzes data pertaining to the schemes' effectiveness. Government research data from 1983 are used to compare the number of applicants for state victim compensation with the number of crime victims potentially eligible for compensation. The data analyses pertaining to offender restitution focus on the percentage of criminal cases involving restitution orders and the percentage of crime victims receiving compensation from offenders. The paper then reports on an ongoing Government research project that evaluates the impact of victim services. This study surveyed victim attitudes toward various compensation schemes as well as toward the police and the courts. Overall, the study found that the state compensation scheme has not brought financial relief to a substantial portion of crime victims nor fostered more positive victim attitudes toward criminal justice administration. Schemes for offender compensation of victims apparently appeal to both victims and the public at large. Implications are drawn for Dutch victim compensation schemes. A 22-item bibliography, a list of 1978-84 publications (in English, German, and French) of the Dutch Research and Documentation Centre, and tabular research data.