Court house services centre doing fine

A NEW customer services centre in Londonderry now processes all warrants for Northern Ireland's substantial number of fine defaulters.

The centre was created three years ago and is based at Bishop Street Court House. In 2008 it issued warrants for a large proportion of the 35,000 people who didn't pay fines imposed as punishment for various crimes and roads offences.

A new report by Criminal Justice Inspection (CJI) reviewing the enforcement of fines here revealed that the PSNI increasingly view the imposition and enforcement of fines as a poor use of its time.

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The study also states that: "Proportionally females are more likely than males to be received for fine default. Forty per cent (1222) of the 3080 female receptions recorded between 1997 and 2007 were for fine default compared to 30 per cent (17274) of the 57300 male receptions."

Most of these offenders - if persistent - end up behind bars but not usually in Londonderry.

"All female fine defaulters are located in HydebankWood prison. All male fine defaulters are located in either HydebankWood YOC (young males) or Maghaberry Prison.

"A very small number of fine defaulters are located in Magilligan Prison," the report points out.

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People can end up in jail for anywhere between a week and a month if they don't pay their dues for speeding.

"Over half (55 per cent) of all fine defaulter receptions in 2006 were for motoring offences," the report explains.

"The most common sentences for fine default are 7, 14 or 28 days. Nearly half of receptions received a seven day sentence, indicating that the amount owed was below 200," it adds.

The research found fault with the system saying local needs must be better accounted for and that there should be greater consistency across Northern Ireland.

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A new processing base in Londonderry is integral to addressing this.

"The dynamics of the enforcement system changed in 2007 with the development of the NICtS new Integrated Court Operating System (ICOS) and the creation of the Customer Services Centre based in Londonderry/Derry Courthouse which processes all warrants from one central point," the report claimed.

"Also in 2007 there was a rationalisation of PSNI District Command Units (DCUs) from 29 to eight, which impacted on enforcement organisational structures.

"Nevertheless Inspectors were told that the likelihood of an individual having to pay a fine still varied by geographical area, depending on the degree to which individual police Districts prioritised the function," it found.

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Chief Inspector Michael Maguire said people here are not as bad as people in England and Wales when it comes to paying court fines.

"In 2008 there were over 35,000 fines imposed in Northern Ireland. Compliance is high, with 45 per cent of fines paid by the due date and most of the rest accounted for as a consequence of enforcement.

"This compares favourably with the situation in England and Wales, and should provide confidence that the system here works."

But despite more people paying their dues here more people are also ending up in jail for defaulting.

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"Northern Ireland imprisons more people for fine default than most other countries. Fine defaulters account for around 30 per cent of prison admissions each year (though mostly for very short sentences) and are a significant burden on prison administration," said Mr Maguire.

He also revealed the PSNI's view that it shouldn't be wasting its time on chasing after people who don't pay up.

"The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) views fine enforcement as a poor use of its time and is seeking to withdraw from what it regards as a non-core activity," commented Mr Maguire.