Offenders To Be Punished Without An Appearance In Court

Some 18,000 offenders are expected to be punished directly by prosecutors rather than being sent to court under new measures aimed at improving the efficiency of the criminal justice system.

Those accused of low-level assaults, vandalism, petty breaches of the peace and minor shoplifting offences will be sent letters by fiscals detailing the new measures ranging from fines of up to £300, work orders and compensation orders of up to £5000.

Those sent the letters notifying them of their offer have 28 days in which to reject the penalties. Those who do not respond are deemed to have accepted.

The measures are aimed at streamlining and speeding up the system and ensuring that only those who need to be dealt with by the courts are sent there.

Under the legislation, which was passed last year, offenders can be given a combination of work orders, fiscal fines and compensation orders.

A number of offenders have already been offered fines rather than going to court, including a woman accused of minor assault and a man accused of vandalism.

The work orders, which will involve unpaid labour similar to community service, will be piloted from June onwards in Inverness Dumbarton, Hamilton and Linlithgow. The pilot will run for two years.

“At the moment there is a lot of churn in the courts and a lot of trials which could call two or three times before the person then pleads guilty,” said Tom Dysart, area fiscal for Dumfries.

“The best thing would be that people plead guilty at the earliest opportunity. It is about incentivising it so the rest of the system can get on with what it needs to do to deal with those not pleading guilty.”

The Crown Office currently offers some 52,000 fiscal fines a year of £100 or less.

Under the old system those asked to pay a fine had to “opt in” rather than opting out. Failure to reply was seen as rejection of the offer in favour of going to court and less than half were accepted.

Under the new system which started last month, failure to respond is seen as tacit acceptance of the offer. Trials indicate that a far higher proportion – more than 75% – will pay the fines under the new opt-out scheme.

Overall the Crown Office expects an additional 18,000 will be diverted from court under the measures.

The move follows the McInnes report on summary justice in 2004, which recommended more use of fines and other diversions to free up court time.

The McInnes report found huge delays in the summary court system. In 2003, 24% of cases in the sheriff court and 16% in the district court had not been disposed of 50 weeks after the offender had committed the offence.

Summary criminal cases account for 96% of criminal court business in Scotland.

There were 13,985 fiscal fines fully paid between 2002 and 2003.

“Under the work order scheme it also means the victim can get something back,” said Mr Dysart. “We have already carried out shadow marking exercises.”

However, the criminal law committee of the Law Society of Scotland has serious concerns about the implications of the move.

Bill McVicar, of the committee, said: “The concern is that we are bringing in these new measures and a new regime without sufficient information being given to the public.

“Our most fundamental concern is that if you do nothing to reject your fine or compensation order then you are deemed to have accepted it.”

Meanwhile, concern was expressed yesterday over claims that the guidelines under the changes would mean that criminals who inflict wounds that require fewer than three stitches would escape being brought before a court.

David Sinclair, of Victim Support Scotland, said that, while the organisation was committed to reducing prison numbers, a balance needed to be struck as to how offenders were dealt with through community and restorative justice.

He added: “Quite clearly there are some assaults which are not as serious as others. But any assault with a weapon should be considered a serious assault. Victims must not lose faith in the criminal justice system.”