Victim surcharge

Last updated

In the legal system of England and Wales, the surcharge, often referred to as a victim surcharge, is a penalty applied to people convicted of offences, in addition to a conditional discharge, a fine, or a community or custodial sentence, in order to provide compensation for the victims of crime. [1] [2]

Contents

The surcharge is not paid directly to the criminal's victim, but is pooled and distributed through the Victim and Witness General Fund. The amount to be paid is specified by law, and courts have limited discretion to reduce the amount, or even to waive the surcharge, for defendants of limited means. [3] The law journalist Joshua Rozenberg has reported cases where a surcharge levied against a young person became the responsibility of their parents, even when a parent was the victim of the crime in question. [3]

In some circumstances, the court may waive the victim surcharge where the court orders compensation as part of the sentence. Additionally, the surcharge is not payable where the court is dealing with breach of a community order or breach of a suspended sentence or breach of a conditional discharge.

The surcharge was first introduced in 2007. [2] [4] From 1 September 2014, the discretion of magistrates' courts to apply additional custody days in lieu of the surcharge was withdrawn. [2]

Amounts

For offences committed after 16 June 2022, the amount of the surcharge, depending on the penalty awarded, is: [1]

Conditional discharge
£26
Fine
40% of the fine value (£2,000 maximum)
Community sentence
£114
Custodial sentence of 6 months and below
£154
Custodial sentence, 6 months to 2 years
£187
Custodial sentence over 2 years
£228 (only in Crown Court)

Other figures apply for legal persons who are not individuals; and offenders aged under 18.

Official figures show that £51 million was raised between 2010 and 2014. [2]

In other countries

In Canada, the Federal Victim Surcharge was made mandatory by the Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act in 2013. A number of Charter challenges have been made, where it was applied to offenders who would not be able to pay. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Youth Criminal Justice Act</i> Canadian statute

The Youth Criminal Justice Act is a federal Canadian statute that covers the prosecution of youths for criminal offences.

A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that period and fulfills the particular conditions of the probation, the sentence is usually considered fulfilled. If the defendant commits another offence or breaks the terms of probation, the court can order the sentence to be served, in addition to any sentence for the new offence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth offending team</span>

In England and Wales, a youth offending team (YOT) is a multi-agency team that is coordinated by a local authority and overseen by the Youth Justice Board. It deals with young offenders, sets up community services and reparation plans, and attempts to prevent youth recidivism and incarceration. YOTs were set up following the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 with the intention of reducing the risk of young people offending and re-offending, and to provide counsel and rehabilitation to those who do offend. Youth offending teams engage in a wide variety of work with young offenders in order to achieve their aims. YOTs supervise young people who have been ordered by the court to serve sentences in the community or in the secure estate. Sometimes, teams organise meetings between offenders and victims to encourage apologies and reparation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local Court of New South Wales</span>

The Local Court of New South Wales is the lowest court in the judicial hierarchy of the Australian state of New South Wales. Formerly known as the Court of Petty Sessions and the Magistrates Court, there are more than 160 branches across New South Wales where the Local Court has jurisdiction to deal with the majority of minor civil and criminal matters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magistrates' court (England and Wales)</span> Lower court in England and Wales

In England and Wales, a magistrates' court is a lower court which hears matters relating to summary offences and some triable either-way matters. Some civil law issues are also decided here, notably family proceedings. In 2010, there were 320 magistrates' courts in England and Wales; by 2020, a decade later, 164 of those had closed. The jurisdiction of magistrates' courts and rules governing them are set out in the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.

In some common law nations, a recognizance is a conditional pledge of money undertaken by a person before a court which, if the person defaults, the person or their sureties will forfeit that sum. It is an obligation of record, entered into before a court or magistrate duly authorized, whereby the party bound acknowledges (recognizes) that they owe a personal debt to the state. A recognizance is subject to a "defeasance"; that is, the obligation will be avoided if person bound does some particular act, such as appearing in court on a particular day, or keeping the peace. In criminal cases the concept is used both as a form of bail when a person has been charged but not tried and also when a person has been found guilty at trial as an incentive not to commit further misconduct. The concept of a recognizance exists in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, and the United States. Recognizances were frequently used by courts of quarter sessions, for example they make up more than 70% of surviving records for the Bedfordshire Quarter Sessions records.

A discharge is a type of sentence imposed by a court whereby no punishment is imposed.

In the United Kingdom there are several crimes that arise from failure to take care of health, safety and welfare at work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes significant changes in many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In particular, it changes the law relating to custodial sentences and the early release of prisoners to reduce prison overcrowding, which reached crisis levels in 2008. It also reduces the right of prison officers to take industrial action, and changed the law on the deportation of foreign criminals. It received royal assent on 8 May 2008, but most of its provisions came into force on various later dates. Many sections came into force on 14 July 2008.

A conditional sentence is a non-custodial punishment for crime. It is one type of criminal sentencing used in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal sentencing in Canada</span> Overview of criminal sentencing in Canada

Canadian criminal law is governed by the Criminal Code, which includes the principles and powers in relation to criminal sentencing in Canada.

The main Offences against military law in the United Kingdom are set out in the Armed Forces Act 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Code of Criminal Procedure (India)</span> Erstwhile Code of Criminal Law of India

The Code of Criminal Procedure, commonly called Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), was the main legislation on procedure for administration of substantive criminal law in India. It was enacted in 1973 and came into force on 1 April 1974. It provides the machinery for the investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected criminals, collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the accused person and the determination of punishment of the guilty. It also deals with public nuisance, prevention of offences and maintenance of wife, child and parents.

Victims' rights are legal rights afforded to victims of crime. These may include the right to restitution, the right to a victims' advocate, the right not to be excluded from criminal justice proceedings, and the right to speak at criminal justice proceedings.

Sentencing in England and Wales refers to a bench of magistrates or district judge in a magistrate's court or a judge in the Crown Court passing sentence on a person found guilty of a criminal offence. In deciding the sentence, the court will take into account a number of factors: the type of offence and how serious it is, the timing of any plea of guilty, the defendant's character and antecedents, including their criminal record and the defendant's personal circumstances such as their financial circumstances in the case of a fine being imposed.

The concept of probation was introduced to Pakistan, then part of British India, in 1923. This initial system amounted to binding over some first-time offenders, without supervision by probation staff, and applied chiefly to young offenders. Reforms and extension to adult offenders were considered but not implemented under British rule, although a form of "probational release" or parole from longer prison sentences was introduced in the then province of Punjab in 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) is a statute of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted by the coalition government of 2010-2015, creating reforms to the justice system. The bill for the act was introduced in the House of Commons on 21 June 2011, and received Royal Assent on 1 May 2012.

The legal system in the United Arab Emirates is based on civil law, and Sharia law in the personal status matters of Muslims and blood money compensation. Personal status matters of non-Muslims are based on civil law. The UAE constitution established a federal court system and allows all emirates to establish local courts systems. The emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah have local court systems, while other emirates follow the federal court system. Some financial free trade zones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have their own legal and court systems based on English common law; local businesses in both emirates are allowed to opt-in to the jurisdiction of common law courts for business contracts.

The Criminal Procedure Code, are Malaysian laws which enacted relating to criminal procedure.

In the Australian legal system, a good behaviour bond is a type of non-custodial sentence which involves the condition of the offender's "good behaviour" for a set period. The condition of "good behaviour" primarily requires the offender to obey the law, but may also include additional probation officer supervision, mandatory medical treatment or participation in rehabilitation, counselling and intervention programs. These imposed conditions are determined by state legislation and at the magistrate's discretion. A good behaviour bond may be established with or without a recorded legal conviction for the offence. The specific conditions which constitute a good behaviour bond, as well as the consequences for breaching them, vary under each Australian state or territory's legislation, but overall are used most commonly for first-time and juvenile offenders.

References

  1. 1 2 "What is the surcharge?". Sentencing Council. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Criminals jailed by magistrates to pay victim surcharge". BBC Online . 8 August 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 Rozenberg, Joshua. "Victim surcharge: unintended consequences". Law Society Gazette. Law Society . Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  4. "'Victim surcharge' on court fines". BBC Online . 8 March 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  5. "Federal Victim Surcharge backgrounder" . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  6. "Minister of Justice announces changes to the federal victim surcharge provisions". yahoo! news. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  7. "Federal Victim Surcharge". www.canada.ca. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  8. "Minister of Justice announces changes to the federal victim surcharge provisions". Yahoo News. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2023.