Robbery and Violent Theft Injuries (UK)
Understand how robbery and violent theft injuries are assessed under the CICA scheme, including police reporting, evidence, eligibility and time limits.
Robbery and violent theft injuries may arise where force is used during or in connection with taking property or attempting to take it. However, not every theft or property offence is automatically covered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
The Scheme generally focuses on the qualifying violent incident and the physical injuries or qualifying disabling mental injuries caused. It does not normally provide compensation for the financial value of stolen property.
Applications are assessed by considering how the incident occurred, whether it was reported to the police, the available medical evidence and whether the Scheme’s eligibility and injury-tariff requirements are met.
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Robbery and violent theft injuries may be assessed by reviewing the violence connected with the incident, the resulting injuries, police information and the relevant Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme tariff.
What robbery and violent theft injuries involve
An application involving robbery and violent theft injuries generally focuses on the force or violence connected with taking or attempting to take property, together with the physical injuries or qualifying disabling mental injuries caused.
The loss of property is treated separately. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme does not normally provide payment for the financial value of money, belongings or other items that were stolen.
The assessment often focuses on:
- How the incident occurred
- Whether property was taken or an attempt was made
- The force or violence used
- When and where the incident happened
- The nature and severity of the injuries
- Whether the incident was reported to the police
- What medical treatment or diagnosis was received
- The available police and medical evidence
- Whether the injuries fall within the Scheme tariff
Both completed and attempted robberies can involve a qualifying crime of violence where injury is caused.
Theft, threats or property loss alone do not automatically establish entitlement to an injury payment. The incident and resulting injuries must meet the relevant Scheme requirements.
Common robbery and violent theft scenarios
Situations involving robbery-related injuries may include:
- Force used while property is taken
- Violence during an attempted robbery
- Assaults where a person resists the theft
- Injury while belongings are forcibly removed
- Violence involving a weapon
- Attacks connected with the offender leaving
- Incidents causing physical injuries and disabling mental injuries
Types of robbery and violent theft injuries
Injuries considered in robbery or violent theft applications may include:
- Bruising, cuts and soft-tissue injuries
- Broken bones or fractures
- Facial and dental injuries
- Head injuries, including concussion
- Injuries caused by weapons
- Qualifying disabling mental injuries
- Permanent symptoms or disability
What can affect an application
Factors that can affect how an application is assessed include:
- Whether the incident was reported to the police
- Any delay in reporting to the police
- How the violence caused the injury
- The type and severity of the injuries
- The available medical evidence
- The clarity of the information explaining how the incident and injuries occurred
- Whether the injuries fall within the tariff
Common application issues
Issues that can arise in robbery-related applications include:
- The theft being reported but not the violence
- Limited details about how the injury occurred
- Gaps in medical treatment
- Delayed police reporting
- Mental injury without the required specialist diagnosis
- Injuries not meeting the Scheme tariff
- Applications affected by time-limit rules
Robbery-related injury applications can vary depending on how the violence was connected with the taking or attempted taking of property, the injuries sustained and the police and medical information available.
The violent circumstances of the incident, the resulting injuries and the available supporting evidence can all influence how a robbery-related injury application is assessed.
How robbery and violent theft injuries are assessed
Robbery and violent theft injuries are generally assessed by reviewing the violent incident, the injuries sustained and whether the application meets the requirements of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
This may include:
- Information provided in the application
- Information obtained from the police and investigation records
- How the force or violence occurred
- The connection between the incident and the injuries
- Medical evidence relating to the injuries
- The duration and effect of any symptoms
- Assessment of the injuries under the Scheme tariff
- Whether the applicant cooperated with the police and CICA
The person responsible does not have to be identified, charged or convicted. A decision can be made using the available evidence about the incident and the resulting injuries.
Further information may be requested where the circumstances, injuries or supporting evidence require additional consideration.
Eligibility for robbery and violent theft injuries compensation
Eligibility depends on whether the violence and resulting injuries meet the requirements of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
Common eligibility considerations include:
- Whether a qualifying crime of violence occurred
- Whether the incident happened in a place covered by the Scheme
- Whether the incident was reported to the police
- Any reasons for delayed reporting
- Compliance with the application time limits
- The applicant’s cooperation with the police and CICA
- Whether the injuries are recognised under the tariff
- The applicable residency or nationality requirements
Robbery does not automatically result in compensation. The application must relate to qualifying violence and an injury covered by the Scheme.
CICA may also consider the applicant’s conduct, unspent criminal convictions and any failure to provide reasonable assistance during the assessment.
Evidence commonly considered
CICA may consider information from several sources when assessing injuries caused during robbery or violent theft.
Common forms of evidence include:
- The police crime reference number
- Information obtained from the police and investigation records
- Statements describing how the incident occurred
- Medical records from a GP or hospital
- Records of emergency treatment or surgery
- Dental records where relevant
- Photographs of visible injuries
- Medical evidence of lasting symptoms or disability
- Psychiatric or clinical-psychology evidence where a disabling mental injury is claimed
- Additional information requested during the assessment
The evidence required for robbery and violent theft injuries compensation will depend on the incident and the injuries being considered. The fact that an offender was not identified does not by itself prevent an application from being assessed.
CICA may obtain information from the police and request further medical evidence before reaching a decision.
What outcomes may include
The outcome of a for robbery and violent theft injuries application will depend on the evidence, the injuries sustained and whether the Scheme requirements have been met.
Possible outcomes include:
- A tariff award for one or more qualifying injuries
- Consideration of physical injuries and qualifying disabling mental injuries
- A request for further police or medical evidence
- Additional enquiries before a decision is made
- A reduced or withheld award in certain circumstances
- A decision that no award can be made
- A review where a decision is challenged
- An appeal where applicable
An injury payment is based on the categories and amounts contained within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme tariff.
Any award will relate to the qualifying injuries and other eligible payments, rather than the financial value of property taken during the incident.
Time limits
Applications involving robbery and violent theft injuries should normally be made as soon as reasonably practicable. Where the injured person was aged 18 or over when the incident occurred, the usual CICA deadline is two years from the violent incident.
The relevant date is normally the date when the force or violence occurred, rather than when stolen property was recovered, replaced or valued.
Factors that may be relevant include:
- When the robbery or attempted robbery occurred
- When the violence was reported to the police
- Whether the report clearly recorded the force used and the injuries caused
- The injured person’s age at the time
- Any reason an earlier application could not be made
- Whether sufficient police and medical evidence remains available
An application should not normally be delayed while waiting for the offender to be identified, charged or convicted, or for stolen property to be recovered.
Different rules apply where the injured person was under 18 when the incident occurred. Where it was reported before their 18th birthday, the application must normally be received by their 20th birthday. Where it was first reported on or after their 18th birthday, the application must normally be made within two years of that police report.
An extension is not automatic. CICA must normally be satisfied that exceptional circumstances prevented an earlier application and that the available evidence allows the matter to be determined without extensive further enquiries.
Understanding how robbery and violent theft injuries compensation is assessed can help clarify the distinction between the loss of property, the violence used and the injuries considered under the CICA Scheme.
Robbery-related assessments focus on the violence used during or connected with the taking of property and the qualifying injuries caused, rather than the financial value of what was stolen.
Final notes
Robbery and violent theft injuries can involve force used while property is taken, during an attempted robbery or in circumstances closely connected with the incident. CICA assessments generally focus on that violence and the injuries it caused.
The Scheme does not normally compensate for the financial value of stolen money, belongings or other property. Any injury payment depends on whether a qualifying physical injury or disabling mental injury is recognised under the tariff.
An offender does not necessarily have to be identified, charged or convicted. The available police, medical and other supporting evidence will be considered when the application is assessed.
Each application is considered individually. The description of an incident as robbery does not by itself determine whether compensation will be awarded.
For a broader overview of related cases, visit the Criminal Injuries Compensation (CICA) (UK) page.
For official information about crimes of violence, qualifying injuries, police reporting, evidence and application time limits, refer to Criminal injuries compensation: a guide (official Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority guidance – opens an external website).
Further Guidance
Robbery and violent theft injuries form part of the wider Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme where force or violence connected with taking property causes an injury that meets the Scheme requirements. Other criminal injury categories may apply where violence occurs in different circumstances.
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