Jersey Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) Annual Report 2024

R.20/2025

Contents

1. Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 2
2. The CICB Scheme........................................................................................................................................... 3
3. Board Membership and Operation ............................................................................................................... 5
4. Financial Operation of the Scheme 2024 ...................................................................................................... 6
5. Developments ............................................................................................................................................... 6
6. Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Appendix A – Annual Accounts ............................................................................................................................... 8

1. Executive Summary

1. This is the 2024 annual report of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB).
2. Two new legal members were recruited in 2024; Allana Binnie and Nick Miere. The membership of the Board now comprises of five legal members and five lay members, totalling ten members.
3. 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.
4. 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). This continued throughout 2024.
5. Throughout 2024 there were 61 applications. This was an increase from the 42 applications received during the previous year and evidences the accessibility of the Scheme.
6. The amount of compensation awarded to victims has fluctuated, reflecting the variable seriousness of the cases dealt with and in accordance with the Scheme rules.
7. 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.
8. 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 not been amended over the 33 years of operation.
2. Under the current 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 or on 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 Department 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 – 17th 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 five legally qualified advocate members and five lay members:

• Advocate Lee Ingram (Chair)

• Advocate Christopher Hillier

• Advocate Debbie Corbel

• Advocate Nick Miere

• Advocate Allana Binnie

• 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 23 December 2025:

• Advocate Lee Ingram, Chairman

• Advocate Christopher Hillier, Legal Member

• Ms Linzi Mudge, Lay Member

• Mr Nigel Collier Webb, Lay Members Other Appointments:

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

• Mrs Jess Doyle and Mr Peter Charalambous were appointed until April 2027

• 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 to discuss the operation of the Scheme generally.
4. The Jersey Appointments Commission's guidance recommends a maximum nine-year term, therefore further recruitment may be required in 2025 as four members reach this limit.

4. Financial Operation of the Scheme 2024

1. In terms of number of applications, 2024 saw the highest number of applications (61) over a four-year period, with the average number over those years being 41.
2. There was an increase in the number of cases resolved in 2024 to 49 compared to previous years.
3. In terms of compensation amounts, in 2024 a total of £564,399.24 was awarded (£12,500 of which was made up of interim awards). This represents an average award amount of £11,518.35 of the 49 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 on 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 Team and Jersey Domestic Abuse Support; this work will continue through 2025 and beyond.

6. Acknowledgements

6.1.  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.

20th January 2025

Lee Ingram Chair

Appendix A – Annual Accounts

2024