The chief constable of Avon and Somerset police has called for an overhaul in the way victims are paid compensation by criminals.

Colin Port has criticised the current system of courts making compensation orders, which often means victims don't get any money or receive it in installments.

He has called for the criminal justice system to pay the victim immediately following a court case and for the offender to then owe the Government, rather than being able to withhold the victim's compensation.

As well as passing sentence, a court can also make an order for a convicted offender to pay compensation to their victim.

Often, it is no more than £200 and the offender will be asked to pay in accordance with his means. An offender could be ordered to pay back as little as £5 a week.

However, if the compensation is not paid then no money is passed to the victim and it can take months before the case is brought back to court.

Mr Port said: "If the offender does not pay that money, then the victim does not get any compensation whatsoever.

"I believe that we should use the funds seized from criminals to create a reservoir fund from which courts could pay compensation there and then.

"The money paid by the criminal could then be used to top up the fund over the coming weeks and months.

"This would considerably aid the victim to repair any damage and make some amends at the earliest opportunity."

He added: "If you are traumatised by a crime or assaulted in the street, for example, it has a considerable impact in your life.

The Ministry of Justice has a total annual budget in the region of £8.8 billion. Money paid in court-order compensation totals about £160 million each year.

The paid-in compensation by order of a court is different to any money paid under the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme.

Sue Lloyd, area manager of the Avonside Victim Support, backed Mr Port.

She said: "Court-ordered compensation is a mechanism for reparation by the offender to a victim.

"If payment is slowor or non-existent, this can create a feeling of re-victimisation for the recipient.

"I would endorse Colin's call for court compensation to be paid in a lump sum with legal recovery of the monies thereafter.

"However, victims of assault, violence and trauma are often also eligible for Criminal Injuries Compensation (whether a perpetrator is charged and taken to court or not) and so it is important to remember that the two compensation systems are different."