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Can’t pay, should work |
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Wednesday, 05 March 2008 |
Alleged offenders who would not be able to pay fines imposed by courts if found guilty of minor offences will be offered the chance to take part in community reparation schemes instead under a pilot scheme launched by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill today.
Speaking before SACRO’s annual conference, MacAskill said the ‘can’t pay, should work’ scheme would allow low-level offenders a chance to avoid being levied with fines they may not be able to pay, and thus risking imprisonment when they default on the fine, and would also free up court time.
Under the fiscal work order pilot, prosecutors will have the option of offering the community-based work orders to offenders charged with low-level crimes like graffiti and shoplifting.
The fiscal work order pilots will run in South Lanarkshire, West Lothian, West Dunbartonshire and Highland Council and will allow for 400 fiscal work orders per year, 100 in each local authority participating. Across Scotland in 2005/06, there were 18,000 fiscal fines imposed.
MacAskill said:
“These work orders are designed to help create a new alternative to prosecution for accused who but for their lack of financial means might otherwise have received a fiscal fine. In my view if they can't pay, then they should work. That's why we want to see if this approach will help to remove a group of low level offenders from the courts and instead get them to give something back to their communities. I want to see them paying back by the sweat of their brow for the damage they have done.
“We want valuable court time to be focused on those matters which can only be dealt with by way of prosecution. It's important that fewer cases go to court needlessly, and that those cases which do go to court get there more quickly, are better prepared and progress more speedily. We want to save time and expense; avoid wasted effort; reduce the demands made on victims and witnesses, and get low level offenders to put something back into their communities.”
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