Massive jump in 'get out of court' fines

Published on Saturday 14 November 2009 10:19

THE number of offenders given on-the-spot "get out of court" fines by police for antisocial behaviour has soared, despite one in three in Edinburgh failing to pay the penalty.

Officers handed out 2,460 fixed penalty notices between April and September for offences including vandalism, being drunk and incapable, urinating in public and playing loud music.

The figure represents a 74 per cent rise compared with the same period last year, when 1,410 fines were issued. Meanwhile, the number of people who were hit with a Police Adult Warning, which can be issued for offences such as minor drug possession and theft instead of a court appearance, also climbed by 103 per cent during the same period. In all, 643 were given in the six months after arresting officers used a new system to check first whether the charge would actually result in court proceedings or be dropped.

Police chiefs today said the fines allowed them to free up officers from time-consuming court appearances and paperwork, while clearing the backlog of cases for prosecutors.

Critics urged the force to ensure that more serious offenders went to court, and that those refusing to pay up were vigorously pursued.

In 38 per cent of the 3,667 fines handed out in the Capital between last April and March, nothing had been paid towards the fine as of July. In another 17 per cent of cases, the offender was in arrears for their payments to the fine. That meant only 168,000 out of 407,000 had been collected.

Gavin Brown, Lothians Tory MSP, said: "I would ask for reassurance that people who are dealt with by a fixed penalty notice are not those who really should be going to court to have the case looked at. If these are minor offences then the fact that they are receiving some kind of penalty is welcome, but not if they should be in front of a sheriff in court.

"We also need to ensure that those given these fines pay them in full and on time or it's no kind of justice at all."

Offenders are given 28 days to pay the fines after having their details taken by police, with the order rising to 60 if they miss the deadline. If they continue to refuse payment, the debt is passed to enforcement officers from the Scottish Court Service.

Police say the problem is people not paying the fines rather than giving false details to officers, which is a criminal offence.

A police spokesman said: "Fixed penalty notices for antisocial behaviour can only be issued via an electronic personal digital assistant (PDA) device, which negates the need for paperwork, allowing officers to use their time more effectively, and releasing them to provide an improved service to the public.

"The increase in the number of fixed penalty notices issued this year corresponds to the increasing number of Lothian and Borders Police officers who have been trained to operate PDAs."

The fixed penalty notices are not recorded as a criminal conviction. However, anyone who receives more than two fixed penalty notices in six months, then commits a third, similar offence, is automatically reported to the procurator fiscal.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "These figures show that the increased use of fixed penalty notices for low-level offences is freeing up police officers' time across Scotland, time that they can spend tackling crime in our communities rather than form-filling."