Police dish out 20 spot fines per day

ON-THE-SPOT fines for anti-social behaviour are being handed out by Lothian and Borders Police at the rate of nearly 20 a day.

A total of 6,871 fixed penalty notices were issued in 2009 for offences such as drunkenness, vandalism and breach of the peace – more than twice that for 2008.

But official figures show that around 40 per cent of such fines are ignored. Even after they are passed on to the courts to collect, one in five goes unpaid.

Today Lothians Conservative MSP Gavin Brown called for a tougher clampdown on antisocial behaviour.

Figures contained in a parliamentary answer by community safety minister Fergus Ewing revealed the number of police fixed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour offences in Lothian and the Borders had soared from 2,351 in April-December 2008 to 6,871 in 2009.

Separate figures showed that out of 3,502 on-the-spot fines imposed in the financial year 2008-09, worth around 140,000, as many as 1,363 – worth about 55,000 – were not paid within the allowed time.

These were then passed on to the courts, where an extra 50 per cent is automatically added to each fine. But the figures show that, as of January this year, in almost 600 cases no payment had been made and fully 20 per cent had not been paid in full.

Mr Brown said the figures painted a worrying picture: "I would like to see a more zero-tolerance approach to antisocial behaviour. We need to clamp down on it more firmly."

The Scottish Court Service said it had extensive powers to collect unpaid fines, including deducting cash owed from benefits, arresting wages or even seizing cars.

Eric McQueen, director of field services, said: "The Scottish Court Service has made it clear that any fine has to be paid. We will use all the available sanctions to collect outstanding fines."