Victim Support Scotland welcomes launch of new charge on criminals to benefit victims

Starting today, a new financial penalty will be imposed on all convicted criminals.

As part of the Scottish Government’s efforts to improve support for victims and witnesses, offenders will be sentenced to pay a court fine. The money raised will be banked in the Victim Surcharge Fund and used to help support victims of crime.

The financial impacts of crime often exacerbate the trauma experienced by victims and can make it harder to move forward following a crime. Now victim support organisations can apply to the Victim Surcharge Fund to cover the costs of providing short-term and practical support such as new windows and locks for house breaking victims or funeral expenses for families of murder victims.

The charge applies to crimes committed from today onwards and payments from the fund will start to be made in six to 12 months’ time.

Kate Wallace, Victim Support Scotland CEO, commented: “Victim Support Scotland welcomes the introduction of this penalty which will contribute to the Victim Surcharge Fund. No amount of money can compensate for the trauma that has been inflicted on those affected by crime, however we believe that this support is a positive step in putting victims and witnesses first.”