THE Scottish Government’s plan to bring in new legislation against jail terms of less than a year has been criticised as figures show more than £5 million of court fines are unpaid.
The Scottish Conservatives claim the level of unpaid fines show offenders do not take alternative punishments to jail “seriously”.
The latest figures from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service show £5.2 million of sheriff court fines from 2014/15 to 2016/17 were unpaid as of October 11 – 15.9% of the total handed out in that period.
The sum includes £2 million of fines issued back in 2014/15.
The majority of the £32.6 million in sheriff court fines imposed over the period have been paid, at £25.6 million (78.3%), with payments on track for a further £1.9 million (5.8%).
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr claimed the “soft-touch” plan to extend the current presumption against sentences of three months or less to apply to a year or less means unpaid fines would increase.
He said: “These figures show a large number of criminals already don’t take alternative punishments like fines seriously.
“The £5 million deficit isn’t just money lost to the taxpayer, it’s a slap in the face to victims of crime too.”
He added: “Now the soft-touch SNP wants to get rid of jail sentences of 12 months or less, this problem will get even worse.
“It means thousands more criminals – including those guilty of domestic abuse – will now receive fines and community sentences.
“And considering so many don’t seem to think they have to pay up, this shortfall will only get worse once the madness of this new SNP policy starts to bite.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Since Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service took over responsibility in 2008, overall fines collection rates have improved considerably and are now at consistently high levels.
“Their robust approach to pursuing all outstanding fines gives a clear message to defaulters that there is no place to hide.
“We have made absolutely clear that the presumption against short sentences is just that; a presumption and not a ban.
“Sentencers retain the discretion to pass the most appropriate sentence based on the facts and circumstances of the case they are dealing with.”
David Fraser, chief operations officer at the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, said: “Our commitment to enforcing payment at all levels is having a significant impact.
“Naturally, it takes time to collect fines as it is only when defaulters fail to make payment that enforcement measures are used.
“But that certainly does not mean defaulters can escape payment. We vigorously pursue all unpaid fines.
“The key to building on this strong platform is improving the availability of up-to-date information on fined offenders, which is why we are currently working with Scottish and UK Government officials to secure access to key government databases.”
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