Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
How to use this guide
This is a digital guide for people who have applied, or are thinking of applying, for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (we call this the Scheme). The Scheme applies to all applications received on or after 27 November 2012. This guide should be read in conjunction with the Scheme, which remains the authoritative document. You can get a copy of the Scheme from our website.
Copies of the Scheme are also available in Welsh.
This guide is to help you understand the Scheme. This guide is divided into helpful topics such as the eligibility rules, how to make an application, your responsibilities and how we will handle your claim. This guide will also link to the relevant sections of the Scheme or other organisations websites where appropriate.
Simply click on a topic from the contents list and this will automatically take you to that area of the guide. If you are looking for a particular keyword, press control and f and then enter the keyword in the search area.
Introduction
What is the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme?
The Scheme is a government funded scheme designed to compensate victims of violent crime in Great Britain. We, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), administer the Scheme and decide if applicants are eligible and assess the appropriate value of any award.
The rules of the Scheme and the value of the payments awarded are set by the Secretary of State and approved by Parliament. To qualify for an award, an injury must be described in the tariff of injuries at Annex E of the Scheme. The CICA must pay an award in line with these prescribed amounts, based on the severity of the injuries and the impact on you.
We recognise that no amount of compensation can ever make up for the harm and suffering caused to victims by violent crime. Injury awards are intended to be an acknowledgement of harm and an important gesture of public sympathy.
What payments are available from the Scheme?
We can consider claims for the following:
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mental or physical injury following a crime of violence;
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sexual or physical abuse;
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loss of earnings - where you have no or limited capacity to work as the direct result of a criminal injury;
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special expenses payments - these cover certain costs you may have incurred as a direct result of an incident. You can only ask us to consider special expenses if your injuries mean you have been unable to work or have been incapacitated to a similar extent for more than 28 weeks;
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a fatality caused by a crime of violence including bereavement payments, payments for loss of parental services and financial dependency; and funeral payments.
To qualify for an award, an injury must be described in the tariff of injuries at Annex E of the Scheme. Not all claims for compensation will be successful; you must be eligible under the rules of the Scheme.
Time limits for applying
You must apply as soon as it is reasonably practicable for you to do so. If you were an adult at the time of the incident, this should normally not be later than two years after it occurred. We can only extend this time limit where:
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due to exceptional circumstances an application could not have been made earlier; and
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the evidence provided in support of the application means that it can be determined without further extensive enquiries by a claims officer.
Applications should be made without delay and victims should not wait until the conclusion of criminal proceedings. The Scheme does not require an offender to have been convicted and all compensation decisions are made on the balance of probabilities, based on the available evidence. This is different from a criminal court which decides on the basis of beyond reasonable doubt. We do not need to wait for the outcome of a criminal trial if there is already enough information to make a decision on your case, so you should never make that a reason for delaying your application.
If you wish us to consider your application more than two years from the date of the incident you will need to provide us with evidence that shows why this application could not have been made earlier. You must also be able to provide supporting evidence for your claim that means that the claims officer can make a decision without further extensive enquiries.
Time limit for applicants under 18 years of age on the date of the incident
Special provision is made in the Scheme if you were under 18 at the time of the incident, although you should still apply as soon as you can. If you are not able to make your own application, a person with parental responsibilities for you can apply on your behalf. If an application is made close to the time of the incident, it will be easier for you to provide evidence that you were injured as the result of a crime of violence.
Where you were under 18 at the time of the incident an application must be received:
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by your 20th birthday, if the incident was reported to the police before your 18th birthday.
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within two years of the first report to the police, if the incident was reported to the police on or after your 18th birthday.
You must also be able to provide supporting evidence for your claim that means that the claims officer can make a decision without further extensive enquiries.
If you wish us to extend these periods for applying, you will also need to provide us with evidence that shows why the application could not have been made earlier.
Same roof rule applications
A further exception to the normal time limit applies to applications that relate to the same roof rule.
The same roof rule prevented compensation being awarded for incidents occurring between August 1964 and 30 September 1979, where an applicant was living with their assailant as a family member at the time.
This rule was removed from the Scheme in 2019 and allowed applications to be submitted from those injured in circumstances falling under the same roof rule who had not previously applied for compensation or from those whose application had previously been refused under this rule. The deadline to apply was 13 June 2021.
We have discretion to consider applications beyond this deadline if there are exceptional circumstances which mean you could not have applied earlier, and the evidence supplied in support of your application means that it can be determined without the need for further extensive enquiries.
Eligibility
We can compensate victims of violent crime, or people whose loved ones have died as a result of a crime of violence. You will also need to meet all the remaining requirements and eligibility criteria within the Scheme to receive an award of compensation.
Direct victim of a crime of violence
A direct victim is someone who was directly injured as a result of a crime of violence in Great Britain or other relevant place.
The term a crime of violence is defined at Annex B of the Scheme.
Incident location
Compensation can only be awarded where the incident occurred in England, Scotland, Wales, or another relevant place. A full definition of relevant place is given at Annex C of the Scheme.
Injured while taking an exceptional and justified risk
You may be eligible for a payment if you were injured while trying to apprehend and offender or suspected offender, prevent or remedy the consequences of a crime or were helping the police to do so. However, we will only make a payment if we are satisfied that you were taking an exceptional risk and that risk was justified in all the circumstances.
A risk will not be considered exceptional if it was something that you might reasonably have been expected to do in the normal course of your work. In considering whether a risk is exceptional we will consider if the risk taken was unusual and was not something which you had been trained to deal with.
When considering if the risk was justified we will consider all the circumstances, including the seriousness of the situation, and whether there was an immediate threat to those involved.