Compensation Orders
Key Facts and Statistics
Annalena Wolcke
Last updated: Jun 2026
Fact 2
Compensation orders require convicted individuals to pay money to a victim, for example for
medical expenses,
loss of property, or
loss of earnings
Fact 3
25%
Compensation orders are included in
25% of all sentences imposed in England & Wales
In 2025
- The average value of compensation was £123
- 78% of compensation orders were for £100 or less
- 90% of compensation orders were for £200 or less
Fact 4
Top 6 offences leading to
compensation orders
| Individuals sentenced in 2025 | |
|---|---|
| 1. Vehicle registration and excise license offences | 136,689 |
| 2. Other railway offences | 61,589 |
| 3. Stage Carriage or Public Service Vehicle Offence | 3,882 |
| 4. Theft from a shop (shoplifting) | 2,684 |
| 5. Travelling by railway without paying correct fare, failing to show ticket, failing to give name and address, etc. | 2,256 |
| 6. Criminal or Malicious Damage Offence | 1,376 |
This infographic is one of a series on sentencing trends in England & Wales. Others can be found here. For further information, contact Annalena Wolcke at [email protected]
- Sentencing Council (n.d.) Explanatory Materials: Compensation Order. https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/explanatory-materials/compensation-order/. ↩︎
- Facts 1-4: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2026), Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, published 30th of April. Outcomes by offence data tool, Table 2. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2025. ↩︎