Offenders ignoring fines worth millions

MORE than 40 per cent of antisocial behaviour fines remain unpaid, according to new statistics revealing that offenders have dodged more than £17 million in penalties imposed by the justice authorities.

Since 2008/09, offenders have failed to pay up to £2.7m out of the £6.7m of antisocial behaviour fines imposed by the police.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The non-payments were last night branded an “insult to victims of crime” and prompted calls for the SNP government to crack down on fine-dodgers.

The proportion of non- payers was highest for antisocial behaviour fines, but the new figures also revealed that other categories of penalties were in arrears. Of the £51.1m in sheriff court fines handed out, £5.5m (12.4 per cent) had yet to be paid. In the justice of the peace courts, £3.7m (19.7 per cent) of the £18.8m in fines handed down were unpaid. Of the £13.7m imposed as fiscal direct penalties, £4.1m (29.9 per cent) had yet to be paid.

Recently introduced direct fines, handed out by procurators-fiscal and the police, are being widely snubbed by offenders. These were supposed to speed up the justice system by avoiding the need to go to court, but have resulted in non-payment levels of up to 50 per cent in some cases.

According to the official Court Service statistics, no payment at all has been made in 100,000 cases which date back over the past three years.

Court chiefs insist a range of new measures are now being used to track down defaulters, such as taking cash directly from benefits, and have warned there is “no place to hide”.

But Labour justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald said: “The number of offenders dodging fines is getting out of hand. The fact that almost one in four offenders has not paid a single penny of their fine is an insult to the victims of crime.

“The £17.6m that is in arrears is money that should be back in the public purse and available to spend on teachers, nurses and police and the services we depend on locally. The SNP must get a grip of the situation and crack down on non-payment.”

A total of £89.1m of fines have been handed out by the country’s sheriff and justice of the peace courts, as well as through police and fiscal fines, since 2008.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

More than a quarter – about £23.7m – has still not been paid, although some are being paid in instalments. But £17.6m is currently in arrears, with 99,964 cases where offenders have failed to make any payment at all.

Fines are often handed out for crimes such as assault, theft and housebreaking, although many are for more minor offences.

David Sinclair of Victim Support Scotland said: “From a victim’s perspective, it’s very important that the figures can demonstrate that where fines are imposed they are actually paid, otherwise justice is not being seen to be done.

“There’s no question that, unless it can be demonstrated that progress can be made in increasing the amount brought in from fines imposed, the system would have to be looked at again.

“It’s quite clearly an issue for the courts who run the service to ensure that the maximum effort is put into collecting these fines.”

Courts took over responsibility for the collection of fines from councils in 2008.

The Scottish Court Service (SCS) insists a range of “robust sanctions” are being used to tackle fine defaulters, including deducting money directly from benefits, arresting wages and seizing cars owned by defaulters.

Since 2008, more than 371,300 fine enforcement orders have been granted by Scottish courts, with more than 67,100 deduction from benefit orders made against those who fail to pay.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Eric McQueen, executive director field services at the SCS, said: “There is no place for fine defaulters to hide. We can take money from benefits, contact employers to seize wages or ultimately sell a car owned by a defaulter to pay a fine. Our fines enforcement officers work very hard to pursue all fines to ensure they are paid.”

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman David McLetchie said: “All this demonstrates is thousands of offenders are cocking a snook at the justice system and getting off scot-free.

“If they cannot be sent to jail for their offence, they would be far better doing some kind of community service so there is some punishment for their crime and some compensation for society.”

Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said too many people convicted of drug possession get a fine rather than “more effective” drug treatment and testing orders.

“These new figures show that giving a heroin user a fine is a waste of time,” she said.

“Too often the fine doesn’t get paid. And if it does, the offender may well have embarked on other crime to raise the money.”

Related topics: