Proposals for Improving Fines Collection and Enforcement

A Fines Working Group led by the Scottish Court Service has reported on a package of measures aimed at improving collection and enforcement of fines and financial penalties within a unified court system. (See the Report on Collection and Enforcement of Fines and Financial Penalties PDF icon.)

Key recommendations are:

  • The introduction of the role of fines enforcement officer (FEO). They will have powers to enforce fines while also offering advice and assistance to those that genuinely are having difficulty in meeting payment of their fines. FEOs and their enforcement responsibilities will reduce the role of the police and the courts in fines enforcement, freeing up valuable resources.
  • After being granted the power by the court, FEOs will have the power to arrest wages and deduct benefits in respect of fines that are in default.
  • They will also be to tackle non-payment through the seizure of vehicles where appropriate (although only a court would be able to dispose of a vehicle).
  • New methods of payment, such as payment cards supported by web based technology are being considered to enable fines to be paid at pay points in post offices and local shops.

FEOs will play a key role in ensuring fine defaulters are aware they will be pursued for payment of their unpaid fines. The Scottish courts have a good record on fines enforcement and the introduction of FEOs will build on that to improve it further by tackling those who 'can pay but won't pay' and offering advice and assistance to those who 'can't pay'.

Where legislation is necessary, this will be introduced in the lifetime of this Parliament (by way of the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland) Bill). For more information on the Bill see the Scottish Executive's Summary Justice Reform website. Some measures will be piloted to test their effectiveness, prior to national implementation.

A business redesign team is being set up to take this work forward. This will include detailed analysis of district court systems for collection and enforcement of financial penalties, and consultation with key stakeholders. The project manager is Derek Kilday who can be contacted on 0131 240 6657 for further information.

February 2006