Fines collection rates rise as offenders are forced to pay up

The 41st Quarterly Fines Report, published today by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, reveals that 91 per cent of the value of Sheriff Court fines imposed during the three-year period between 2015/16 and 2017/18 has either been paid or is on track to be paid as at 22 July 2019 – a rise of one percentage point over the last quarter.

The value of JP Court fines shows a similar one percentage point rise to 91 per cent over the same period.

In addition, collection rates for fiscal penalties and police fixed penalties have both also risen by two percentage points over the same period, meaning 78 per cent of the value of fiscal penalties imposed during the three-year period has either been paid or is on track to be paid and 80 per cent of police fixed penalties.

These high rates reflect continuing success by fines enforcement units in rigorously pursuing non-payers through measures such as seizing bank accounts, clamping cars or arrest warrants.

In the Sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin more than £17,000 was paid up by offenders who had their bank accounts frozen over the past quarter.

Almost £5,000 was also recovered from drivers who found their cars clamped. A Porsche driver from Cambuslang who had failed to settle his outstanding £150 fine imposed at Glasgow JP Court for having no insurance for the car quickly stumped up when he discovered it clamped outside his home.

Arresting non-payers travelling through ports and airports, clamping vehicles, arresting earnings, freezing bank accounts are among enforcement measures available to the SCTS for recovering unpaid fines. Non-payers can also have money taken directly from benefits and more than 6,300 benefit deduction orders were issued in the last quarter alone.

SCTS chief operations officer David Fraser said: “The latest Quarterly Fines Report reflects a 10-year success story of steady improvement in fines collection and illustrates how fines enforcement teams continue to be highly effective in securing unpaid fines.

“It is very unwise not to pay a fine or not to engage with an enforcement officer if someone is having difficulty paying. It can lead to being arrested at an airport or having a vehicle clamped as the recent detention at Prestwick Airport shows. With our national dedicated team of fines enforcement officers, non-payment of a fine or non-engagement is simply not an option.”