Criminal Injuries Compensation

There may be times when someone becomes a victim of violent crime such as during branch raids, at the hands of a violent customer or incident. Whenever a person is a victim of a violent crime, they may wish to pursue a compensation claim.

Claims for compensation are administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

• Crimes must be reported to the police before making a claim.
• There are two years from the date of the incident to make a claim.
• There is a different process for crimes that occur in Northern Ireland.
• If the victim of the crime has a criminal record of any kind, a successful claim is unlikely. The CICA doesn't pay out compensation to anyone with a criminal record other than in exceptional circumstances.

A claim for compensation can be for both physical and mental injuries, and claims for loss of earnings can be considered when someone has had to take time off work because of the incident (loss of earnings is limited to a 28 week period from the date of the incident).

Compensation claims are submitted online. Further information on the CICA scheme are in the full guide to the scheme.

When making a claim, the following is required by the CICA:

• The date and location of the crime
• The name of the Police Station where the crime was reported
• A crime reference number
• The name of the person’s GP’s and address.

The CICA do not pay legal fees on top of compensation however we would advise Accord members to approach the union for support with any CICA claims they wish to make.