Jersey Criminal Injuries Compensation Board – Annual Report 2023

STATES OF JERSEY

JERSEY CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD – ANNUAL REPORT 2023

Presented to the States on 14th February 2024 by the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs

STATES GREFFE

2024  R.24

Jersey Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) Annual Report 2023

Contents

1. Executive Summary......................................................................................................................................... 2
2. The CICB Scheme ............................................................................................................................................ 3
3. Board Membership and Operation ................................................................................................................. 5
4. Financial Operation of the Scheme 2023 ........................................................................................................ 6
5. Developments ................................................................................................................................................. 6
6. Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Appendix A – Annual Accounts ............................................................................................................................... 8

1. Executive Summary

1. This is the 2023 annual report of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB).
2. The membership of the board comprises of three legal members and five lay members, totalling eight members.
3. 2023 saw a new finance system being implemented within the Government of Jersey, and despite various challenges with the system, the board have continued to ensure that eligible applicants are compensated fully, fairly and as quickly as possible within the requirements of the regulations.
4. Since their appointments, the board members have worked with dedication and diligence to provide a vital service to victims of crime on the island. Membership of the CICB is a challenging role requiring the consideration of large volumes of sensitive information and sometimes difficult decisions.
5. Remuneration for board members was introduced in 2023, with members getting paid £500 per opinion. This was the first occasion where the current Board was remunerated and first since payments were stopped in 2016/2017 (which provided a considerable saving to the public running into hundreds of thousands of pounds).
6. Throughout 2023 there were 42 applications.
7. The amount of compensation awarded to victims has fluctuated, reflecting the variable seriousness of the cases dealt with.
8. The current board has focussed on the speed at which claims are dealt with, recognising that application resolution and receipt of compensation is an important milestone for victims in their recovery.
9. The board has worked to develop access routes to the scheme for victims of crime, particularly through collaborative working with victim support services, which has been vital to the smooth running of the scheme.

2. The CICB Scheme

1. The current CICB scheme came into force on 1st May 1991 replacing the earlier scheme, which had operated since 1970. The 1970 scheme was extremely limited in scope, only providing a route to compensation for individuals injured while giving assistance to a Police Officer. The current 1991 scheme has been amended over the 28 years of operation.
2. Under the current 1990 scheme, the Board may make ex gratia payments of compensation in any case where the applicant or, in the case of an application by a spouse or dependent, the deceased –
   1. sustained, in the Island oron a Jersey ship, personal injury directly attributable to a crime of violence (including arson or poisoning) or the apprehension or attempted apprehension of an offender or a suspected offender or to the prevention or attempted prevention of an offence or to the giving of help to a police officer who is engaged in any such activity, or
   2. sustained personal injury directly attributable to a crime of violence (including arson or poisoning) in respect of which a court in the Island has jurisdiction by virtue of section 686 or 687 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 or such enactments as from time to time replace them.
3. In terms of the Board's general operation, each CICB application is referred to two members of the Board for consideration, one legally qualified member and one lay member. In addition to the information provided by the applicant, the Board routinely requests information from various agencies such as Police, Courts, Health and Community Services Departments etc. to inform its decision making. The Board will also access information from the claimant themselves, such as medical evidence and/or any other relevant disclosure that they deem necessary.
4. Regrettably, the information gathering stage introduces delay into the application process. For example, Police and Court information only becomes available a number of months after the conclusion of criminal proceedings. Obtaining information from claimants can also be very challenging at times. Since 2018 information has been shared with Board members via encrypted digital software, which has improved the Board's operation and expedited decisions being returned to applicants.
5. The board have made the process entirely digital thus streamlining an otherwise longer process to involve post and paper.
6. The regulations allow the Board to make reductions to the compensation awarded in the event that the applicant has not given full cooperation to the Police, the board or where a reduction

is otherwise merited by the applicant's conduct; typically, this will involve evidence of provocation by the applicant or a relevant history of previous conviction on their part. Compensation is limited under the Scheme in various circumstances; the most significant being a reduction in full of any qualifying payments made under the Social Security (Jersey) Law 1974 and Income Support (Jersey) Law 2007.  

7. The regulations of the CICB scheme limit the maximum and minimum amounts of compensation that can be awarded to applicants within a range of £1,500 and £100,000. Calculations on the quantum of compensation are informed by the Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases – 16th Ed..
8. Appeals against the decision of the Board are dealt with by way of an oral hearing attended by the applicant. The hearing Board is made up of different members from those involved in the original decision; and compromises a different legal member plus two different lay members. Hearings are conducted in as informal a way as possible with appeal decisions normally returned to applicants as soon as is possible after the hearing.

3. Board Membership and Operation

3.1 The CICB comprises three legally qualified advocate members and five lay members:

• Advocate Lee Ingram (Chair)

• Advocate Christopher Hillier

• Advocate Debbie Corbel

• Ms Linzi Mudge

• Mr Nigel Collier-Webb

• Mrs Jess Doyle

• Mr Peter Charalambous

• Mr Danny Doyle

3.2 The following members' appointments were made until 31 December 2024:

• Advocate Lee Ingram, Chairman

• Advocate Christopher Hillier, Legal Member

• Ms Linzi Mudge, Lay Member

• Mr Nigel Collier Webb, Lay Members

• Mrs Jess Doyle, Lay Member

• Mr Peter Charalambous, Lay Member Other Appointments:

• Advocate Debbie Corbel was appointed in February 2021 and is therefore appointed until February 2026

• Mr Danny Doyle was appointed in May 2023 and is therefore appointed until May 2028

3. Aside from their involvement in individual applications, the Board meet regularly from time to time to discuss the operation of the Scheme generally.

4. Financial Operation of the Scheme 2023

1. In terms of number of applications, 2023 saw the highest number of applications (42) over a four-year period, with the average number over those years being 34.
2. There was a fall in the number of cases resolved in 2023 to 27 compared to previous years. This was primarily a result of the delay in obtaining disclosure and requested information in order to consider the claim.
3. In terms of compensation amounts, in 2023 a total of £423,553 was awarded (£2000 of which was made up of interim awards). This represents an average award amount of £15,687 of the 27 cases opined upon. Naturally, the total annual amount awarded is greatly influenced by the seriousness of the cases considered.
4. Table 1 provides a summary of the board's basic operation over the last four years; more detailed accounts information is available at appendix A.

Table 1

5. Developments

1. In the interests of information security and efficiency, in 2020 the Board moved away from paper-based operation to the use of secure digital information sharing. The Board has also looked to streamline its functions and decision-making processes to resolve applications as quickly as possible and minimise delay for applicants as far as possible.
2. Where possible the board members will meet to opine either digitally by teams or zoom or at the telephone thus avoiding travel time and converse by secure platform (Egress).
3. Over the last five years in particular, the Board has worked to establish closer links with statutory and third sector victim services in an effort to improve the application process and outcomes for victims of crime. This has included close work with Victims First Jersey, the Police Victims and Jersey Domestic Abuse Support; this work will continue through 2024 and beyond.

6. Acknowledgements

1. We are grateful to all members of the Board for their contribution, their enthusiasm and thoughtful dealings when considering the claims received during this period.
2. In 2023 the board welcomed a new member, Dan Doyle, and are currently recruiting for a new legal member.

05 February 2024

Lee Ingram Chair

Appendix A – Annual Accounts

  2023