Feature: National crackdown on fine defaulters already yielding results.
12 Nov 2004
A top fine defaulter in Staffordshire who owes more than £5,000 contacted the court after becoming aware of the targeted multimedia advertising campaign (probably an ad. in his local paper or on local radio). He asked to make arrangements to wipe out his debt straight away.
In a case in Wiltshire a boyfriend and girlfriend were arrested separately for non-payment of fines on Wednesday night. They were interviewed and it was established from the girl that the boyfriend's boss could pay the fines (they were being asked for 1/3 of the outstanding balance in order to get a deal which would involve a repayment plan and secure their release from custody). The boss agreed immediately to pay £430 in cash to secure their release.
While waiting for the payment to arrive they agreed to payment plans that would recover the remaining sums in a reasonable time frame. When the payment arrived the girlfriend was released. However, it was discovered that the boyfriend was wanted on the Police National Computer for Grievous Bodily Harm and he was arrested and detained by the police without being released from custody.
The advertising campaign cautions that a concerted drive to recover unpaid fines has begun and if fine dodgers don't pay up immediately they may suffer serious consequences such as:
- Your fine could be deducted from your wages or certain benefits
- Your car could be clamped
- You could even be arrested and imprisoned
The nationally co-ordinated fines blitz, the second of it's kind, is part of the government's UK-wide 'Payback' campaign to recover criminals' assets and prevent money laundering.
Announcing the campaign earlier this week, Courts Minister Christopher Leslie explained:
"We're giving people a chance to come clean now by warning them through the advertising campaign that they need to pay their outstanding fine immediately in order to avoid possible arrest. If they don't, the next knock on the door could mean payback time has come.
"Operation Payback 2 means that compensation owed to victims, and money owed to the court, and therefore the taxpayer, is collected."