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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 3:13 am
Time: 3:13 am
Results for financial penalties
1 results foundAuthor: Bradshaw, Paul Title: Summary Justice Reform: Evaluation of the Reforms to Fine Enforcement: Final Report Summary: This report presents the findings of a formative evaluation of the new system that introduced changes to the processes for collecting and enforcing financial penalties in Scotland introduced under Summary Justice Reform (SJR). The overall aim of SJR is the establishment of a summary justice system which is: fair to the accused, victims and witnesses; effective in deterring and punishing offenders; efficient in the use of time and resources; and quick and simple in delivery. The policy objectives of the fines enforcement (FE) reforms were to: improve the collection and enforcement of fines by increasing the methods of payment and extending enforcement actions; reduce police and judicial involvement in fines recovery; reduce rates of imprisonment for fine default; and ensure, through an effective enforcement system, that fines are viewed as credible and suitable disposals. The FE reforms, introduced in March 2008, saw responsibility for the enforcement of financial penalities for criminal offences in Scotland transfer to the Scottish Court Service (SCS), the creation of a new post dedicated to the recovery of unpaid fines – the Fines Enforcement Officer (FEO) – and the provision of enforcement powers to the FEO. At the same time, restrictions were made to the availability of imprisonment as a sanction for fine default. The position of FEO, and its functions and powers, are defined by s55 of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007. FEOs have a range of actions, powers and tools at their disposal, the majority of which are made available through the attachment to the fine of an Enforcement Order (EO). The EO allows the FEO to change the payment terms of a fine, arrest a defaulter’s bank account, arrange for fine payments to be deducted directly from employment earnings, or seizure of a vehicle belonging to the defaulter. FEOs can also make a request to a Justice of the Peace (JP)/Sheriff to arrange to have fine payments deducted from the defaulter’s benefits. They may also refer the case to court. Although formative in nature one key fines enforcement outcome has emerged from the research, that since the introduction of FEOs, defaulters are now actively and consistently pursued. With respect to findings concerning processes (the key aim of formative evaluation) the research demonstrates the complexity of the implementation stages of the reformed fines enforcement processes and identifies the key barriers to effective enforcement in the new regime. The barriers include a significant increase in the volume of fines following the introduction of police Direct Measures (DMs), large numbers of unpaid fines carried forward from the previous system, and a staged unification process which impacted on volumes. However, even as these factors begin to recede there are further barriers that will need to be addressed if the rates of fine collection are to rise significantly. These include the lack provision of accurate information on defaulters in general and the lack of a process for the police to provide relevant information in particular, the circumstances and nature of defaulters 2 who are often either unable or unwilling to pay and ultimately the lack of a final sanction for non-payment. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government Social Research, 2011. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2012 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/363926/0123607.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/363926/0123607.pdf Shelf Number: 123612 Keywords: Criminal FinesFinancial Penalties |