Fine dodgers brought down to earth at airports

Fine dodgers brought down to earth at airports

Fines dodgers have been warned to pay up before they try to fly after a number of non-payers were arrested at airports in Scotland and England.

A man coming back from holiday in the Netherlands with a group of friends was arrested at Liverpool Airport over unpaid fines amounting to £770. The man, from Annan, who was returning from Amsterdam, had been fined at Dumfries Sheriff Court for possession of drugs and road offences including careless driving and avoided paying since 2016.

His fine was settled by a family member but not before another member of the group of friends was also identified as a non-payer with an outstanding total of £600 in fines. He had unpaid fines for speeding imposed at Selkirk JP Court and paid up online.

Arresting non-payers at ports and airports is one of a number of measures available to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) for recovering unpaid fines.

A new report released by SCTS today reveals that the fines collection rate remains consistently strong. It shows that 86 per cent of the value of Sheriff Court fines imposed during the three-year period between 1st April 2014 and 31 March 2017 has either been paid or is on track to be paid – a rise of two percentage points compared with the figure at 11 October 2017.

Of JP Court fines imposed from 1 April to 30 September 2017, 81 per cent by value has been paid or is on track to be paid by instalments.

SCTS chief operations Officer David Fraser said: “The fines enforcement teams continue to be highly effective in securing unpaid fines – ignoring your fine and not speaking to an enforcement officer if you are having difficulty paying is very unwise.

“Failure to pay, or to engage with our officers, will result in strong sanctions being taken including arrestment of wages, bank accounts, your car being clamped or inconvenience and embarrassment by being arrested when travelling abroad.”

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