This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New options for handling fine defaulters
15/01/2004
Glasgow District Stipendiary Magistrates Court and Ayr
Sheriff Court will be the first in Scotland to
automatically place fine defaulters on an intensive
community sentence instead of jail, it was announced
today.
Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry said that extending
the use of existing community sentences like Supervised
Attendance Orders (SAOs) in this fashion was a 'smart
option' that could help improve the efficiency of our
justice system and ease some of the strain on our prison
service.
The new measure will come into force from this spring.
The pilots will run for two years for evaluation
purposes.
The Minister said:
"Around 4,000 people are sent to jail each year in
Scotland for fine defaulting, half of them sentenced for a
week or less. Not only do these sentences have little
punitive value but processing offenders on short term
sentences often costs the taxpayer far more than the
original fine.
"We already have an alternative available to the court
for dealing with fine defaulters. SAOs are an existing
community-based alternative to imprisonment for fine
default. They substitute the unpaid portion of a fine for
a period of unpaid activity - a fine on people's time
rather than their pocket.
"Last November I announced that we would pilot the
automatic use of SAOs for fine default in two areas of
Scotland. Today I can confirm that Glasgow District
Stipendiary Magistrates Court and Ayr Sheriff Court will be
the 'test bed' locations where the sanction of custody for
this group of minor offenders will be withdrawn.
"This is not a 'soft' option but a smart option. We are
talking about people whose original offence did not justify
a custodial penalty but who may now end up in jail because
they do not have the means to pay the fine.
"Spending up to 100 hours undertaking constructive
activity on a Supervised Attendance Order is much more
valuable to the offender and to society than a couple of
nights in prison Offenders subject to an SAO undertake
training to develop financial management and employability,
providing them with the skills necessary to move away from
offending lifestyles.
"We will continue to develop and provide effective
programmes which have been shown to work, which cut
re-offending, and help deliver a safer, stronger
Scotland."
Over the past four years, the Executive has created a
wide range of community sentences which target specific
offences and the circumstances of specific offenders.
The mandatory use of Supervised Attendance Orders for
fine default will be piloted in two test areas, Glasgow
District Stipendiary Magistrates Court and Ayr Sheriff
Court. The introduction of the pilot to the Stipendiary
Magistrates Court is expected to result in the annual use
of SAOs for up to 1,100 fine defaulters, who might
otherwise have been sent to custody. Of this number it is
estimated that approximately 130 female fine defaulters
will no longer be sent to custody.
Ayr Sheriff Court pioneered the use of SAOs for fine
defaulters in the early 1990s and the new pilot is expected
to lead to an additional 250 - 300 fine defaulters per year
receving an SAO rather than the custodial option. It is
planned that both pilots, which will be subject to full
external evaluation, will get underway in the spring.
Almost one in five people sentenced to prison are sent
there for fine default.