A Break for the Victim

"The assumption that the claims of the victim are sufficiently satisfied if the offender is punished by society becomes less persuasive as society in its dealings with offenders increasingly emphasizes the reformative aspects of punishment. Indeed, in the public mind the interests of the offender may not infrequently seem to be placed before those of his victim."

So declared a British Government White Paper that probed the country's rising crimes of violence and pointed the way for a 1964 experiment: compensation for people who suffer physical injury at the hands of wrongdoers. Headed by Sir Ronald Long, former president of the English Law Society, a six-lawyer committee called the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board has invited any Briton to claim damages for anything from arson to assault to injuries incurred while helping the police or trying to make a citizen's arrest.

For the first year, the offer had virtually no takers; few victims cared to tackle the four-page application that demands minute details about the crime and a medical exam if necessary. But with a recent surge of business, the board, working on the basis of British damage standards, has now paid 1,473 victims a total of $1,400,000. In a new report, a sampling of the board's cases somewhat deflates the old image of law-abiding Britain:

>A nightclub manager ejected an unruly patron; with two friends, the patron stabbed and kicked the manager to death. The offenders went to prison; the victim's widow and children received $18,300.

>An unmarried woman of 30 met a stranger on a bus, invited him home for a meal. Whereupon he broke her arm and raped her. After granting $3,337 compensation, the board slashed it to $2,668 on the ground that the victim was 20% responsible. >A man of 29 was shot by the husband of the woman with whom he was living. The husband went to prison, and the wounded lover got $1,512. >A boy of eight was blinded with a stick by another boy of eight, who could not be charged because ten is the age of criminal responsibility in Britain. The victim, though, was granted $6,300. > A university student of 19 was strolling in the street with friends when a gang of six youths attacked them. Coshed with a brick, the student suffered severe brain injuries. One assailant was put on probation, the others confined. The victim received $43,624, highest compensation to date.

No-Sale Happiness. To merit an award, an injury must be reported to the police or result in criminal proceedings, and be serious enough to call for damage payments of at least $140. There is no maximum. Not eligible for benefits: victims living in the assailant's household, auto victims (unless the car was used as a weapon), children born of sexual offenses, and claimants for "loss of expectation of happiness."

Every board member reviews about ten cases a week, paying particular attention to the victim's own degree of responsibility in the crime. A dissatisfied claimant can appeal to the other five board members and get a closed hearing. So far, only 8% have done so. Conversely, no victim has yet successfully sued a criminal, in which case the board would get its money back.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.