Can I make a CICA injury claim if I have a criminal record?

Injured woman

If you were the victim of a violent attack, you may wish to claim financial compensation. But if you have a previous criminal conviction yourself, could this affect your right to claim?

What is the CICA?

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is a Government organisation responsible for paying out compensation to the victims of criminal assault under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS).

Funded by the taxpayer, the CICA pays out compensation for claims regardless of whether the person who committed the crime is caught, prosecuted, or convicted.

The CICA sets the eligibility criteria and compensation amounts for innocent victims of violent crime or assault.

See also:

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) claims

What if I have a criminal conviction?

The 'Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012' states that an award will not be given to anyone who, on the date of their application, has an unspent conviction for an offence that led to:

  • A sentence excluded from rehabilitation
  • A custodial sentence
  • A sentence of service detention
  • Removal from Her Majesty’s service
  • A community order
  • A youth rehabilitation order
  • Any equivalent sentence to the above received in Northern Ireland or the EU.

Since 2014, the CICA has adopted the following position for claims where the claimant has an unspent criminal conviction:

"We may refuse or reduce a payment if you have a criminal record.

Annex D of the Scheme [CICS] says that we must take account of your unspent criminal convictions at the date of application and before we make a final decision. In general, the more serious the sentence you receive, and the more recently it was given, the longer the conviction will take to be spent.

There are some differences to the way in which rehabilitation periods operate in England and Wales from Scotland. We will apply the appropriate legislation based on where the incident took place."

In other words, your right to make a claim via the CICA will only be affected by your conviction if it is unspent, and the degree to which compensation is affected will depend on both how serious and how recent your conviction is.

If your conviction is unspent, your compensation settlement may be reduced, or worst-case scenario your application refused.

Driving convictions such as a fine or penalty points will not impact your application.

The CICA adopt the above position, even if you were completely blameless in the violent assault that you want to claim for.

What if I have a ‘spent’ criminal conviction?

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) criminal convictions become 'spent' or 'rehabilitated' after a certain period. Once a conviction is spent, you are no longer legally obliged to declare it, making applications for insurance or jobs, or renting a house easier.

If your conviction is spent, you will not need to declare it to the CICA.

When a conviction is considered spent varies with the circumstances, however. In some cases, such as a prison sentence exceeding 4 years, a conviction will not become spent regardless of how much time has elapsed.

In 2014, the rehabilitation periods for convictions were updated. The changes were extensive, but examples include:

Sentence Time before a conviction becomes spent
Prison sentence of 6 months or less 2 years after the end of the sentence
Prison sentence of more than 6 months up to and including 30 months 4 years after the end of the sentence
Prison sentence of more than 30 months up to and including 4 years 7 years after the end of the sentence
Prison sentence of more than 4 years A conviction will not become spent
Fines 1 year from the date of the ruling

On applying for criminal injuries compensation, you will usually be subject to a CRB and police records check.

How are reduced settlements calculated?

If you are awarded a reduced settlement, the amount it is reduced by will depend on the nature of your conviction.

Penalty points are given based on the severity of the crime, one point being the minimum penalty and ten points the maximum (this will mean your claim is rejected).

Each penalty point will reduce your compensation by 10%, so one point leads to a 10% reduction, two points 20%, and so on all the way up to ten, which represents 100%.

It is worth noting that the penalty points system is a guide that is open to discretion depending on the facts of both the violent attack on the claimant and their own conviction.

What if I am convicted after I apply to the CICA?

If you receive a conviction after the date you apply for compensation but before your claim is settled, you must notify CICA as this could affect your claim.

If a decision is reached about your claim and you wish to contest it, you must write to CICA within 56 days of the date of the decision.

If you are unsure about how your circumstances may affect your claim, a criminal injuries solicitor can advise you.

Starting a no win, no fee claim

If you wish to submit a claim to the CICA, you can do so directly or with the help of a solicitor.

Starting a claim is a straightforward process. A short, no-obligation phone conversation with one of our legally-trained advisors will let you know where you stand and answer any questions you may have, including any concerts about unspent convictions.

Read more:

Criminal injury compensation claims - Step-by-step guide

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Gaynor Haliday, Legal researcher

Author:
Gaynor Haliday, Legal researcher