The 40th Quarterly Fines Report is published today by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service – marking a decade of the official publication – and reveals three year collection rates for both sheriff and JP courts have increased to 90%.
The collection rates remain consistently strong and show that 90% of the value of Sheriff Court fines and JP 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 – a rise of one percentage point compared with the figure at 21 January, 2019.
Fines Enforcement Units continue to pursue non-payers rigorously. A Glasgow man who had failed to pay a fine for motoring offences, including drink driving, was arrested at the airport as he was leaving to emigrate to Australia. The drink driver had consistently avoided settling the fine imposed in 2015. Some payments were made but then stopped and he still owed more than £1,000. He ignored repeated warning letters and an arrest warrant was issued.
When he tried to catch a flight at Glasgow Airport heading to Sydney to take up a job and start a new life in Australia he was arrested by police. He missed his flight and did not fly out until a family member paid the outstanding amount of £1,105.
Arresting non-payers travelling through ports and airports is one of a number of measures available to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) for recovering unpaid fines. Other enforcement measures include clamping vehicles, arresting earnings, freezing bank accounts or taking money directly from benefits.
A Lanarkshire van driver who had unpaid fines for road traffic offences including driving without insurance, found his vehicle clamped twice within three months when he failed to settle the fines. The Kilsyth man owed £150 for a fine imposed at Coatbridge JP Court and found his Ford Transit van clamped on 26 February 2019. Although he paid up in full to get his van back, he subsequently defaulted on a second fine of £120 imposed at Stirling JP Court for speeding. The clampers returned and immobilised his Transit on 14 May and he had to pay up again to get it back.
Drivers have to pay a clamping charge and mounting daily fees if a clamped car is taken into storage. Vehicles are ultimately scrapped or sold off if they do not settle their fines.
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 Glasgow Airport shows. With our national dedicated team of fines enforcement officers, non-payment of a fine or non-engagement is simply not an option.”
In all cases, offenders have opportunities to make payment of their fines at a reasonable and affordable instalment rate. All defaulters are issued warnings before action is taken. Those in genuine financial difficulty can engage with enforcement officers to discuss payment terms.
Most fines can be paid round the clock on our secure website at www.scotcourts.gov.uk/payyourfine or using our automated telephone payment system by phoning 0300 790 0003. Only fines which involve the endorsement of a driving record cannot be paid electronically at the moment. For those penalties that cannot be paid using the online or telephone payment systems, customers can post payments to Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Central Processing Unit, PO Box 23, Glasgow, G59 9DA or take it in person to any Scottish court fines office.
Notes
• Fine defaulters are not named for data protection reasons.
• A copy of the most recent SCTS Quarterly Fines Report is available at: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/about-the-scottish-court-service/reports-data
• Many fines are paid by instalments over the course of two or more years which will affect collection rate figures.
• Warrants can be granted by the Judiciary following a referral by a Fines Enforcement Officer.