If you’ve experienced a crime, you may be able to get financial compensation. This is not something we deal with at LVWS, but we can help you to understand how it works. We can also help you with the forms you need to fill in.

The court can decide that an offender should pay compensation to the victim of the crime they committed. The amount the offender is ordered to pay will depend on:

• how much they can afford
• the sentence they’ve been given.

It’s important to know that:

• compensation may not cover the full cost of your damage or loss
• payments are made to the court and passed to you
• it’s the court’s responsibility to make sure the offender pays
• you should never contact the offender about payments.

The court manager or clerk of court can answer any questions you have.

If you want the court to consider compensation, you should tell the police. You’ll need to tell them how you’ve suffered and give them details of any loss or damage. The police will let the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) know what you’ve told them, so that compensation can be considered in court.

Compensation can be ordered for:

• personal injury
• losses from theft or damage to property
• losses from fraud
• loss of earnings
• medical expenses
• travel expenses
• pain and suffering.

If you’ve experienced a violent crime, you can apply to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) for compensation. If this is something you plan to do, it’s important to know:

• the crime needs to have been committed in the past two years
• the crime needs to have been reported to the police as soon as possible after it happened
• you can apply to CICA even if the offender hasn’t been caught
• going through an application with CICA can be complicated
• it can take a long time to be paid any compensation
• you will need to give CICA details of the crime
• you can claim for physical injury and the impact on your mental health.

We know that it can be difficult to go over what happened again. We can help you find the online application form and support you if you’re struggling to cope.