In the legal system of England and Wales, the surcharge, often referred to as a victim surcharge is a penalty applied to people convicted of offences, in addition to a conditional discharge, a fine, or a community or custodial sentence, in order to provide compensation for the victims of crime.
The surcharge is not paid directly to the criminal's victim, but is pooled and distributed through the Victim and Witness General Fund. The amount to be paid is specified by law, and courts have limited discretion to reduce the amount, or even to waive the surcharge, for defendants of limited means. The law journalist Joshua Rozenberg has reported cases where a surcharge levied against a young person became the responsibility of their parents - even when a parent was the victim of the crime in question.
In some circumstances the Court may waive the Victim Surcharge where the Court orders compensation as part of the sentence. Additionally, the surcharge is not payable where the court is dealing with breach of a community order or breach of a suspended sentence or breach of a conditional discharge.
The surcharge was first introduced in 2007. From 1 September 2014, the discretion of magistrates' courts to apply additional custody days in lieu of the surcharge was withdrawn.
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