Jack Straw signals rowing back on out of court fines
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... fines.html
A planned extension of on the spot fines has been scrapped in a Government about turn amid concerns that criminals are escaping with financial penalties instead of being dealth with by the courts.
Jack Straw proposed adding an additional 20 offences to the list of crimes for which police can hand out a penalty notice for disorder Photo: PA Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, had proposed adding an additional 20 offences to the list of crimes for which police can hand out a penalty notice for disorder.
But he has now dropped moves to consult on the expansion and confirmed there are no plans to extend the scheme.
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Police can't be trusted with fines, magistrates say It is sign the Government is listening to growing fears over the seemingly headlong drive to keep more and more offenders out of the courts.
The Magistrates' Association had raised concerns over adding further offences, especially as around half of all PNDs are not paid on time.
And the country's most senior officer has said hundreds of thousands of criminals are escaping with cautions or on-the-spot fines when they should be tried in court.
John Thornhill, the chairman of the Magistrates' Association, said: "The system has been using penalty notices as a quick fix and using them for some matters which should have been brought before the courts.
"One of the reasons for not consulting on these offences is that they (the MoJ) have accepted the principle that at least 50 per cent of PNDs are not paid and they need to tackle that situation first. It is that which is undermining public confidence in out of court disposals."
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: "Jack Straw is finally seeing sense about the Government’s mad march towards instant justice.
“Penalty notices can be quick and effective, but they must not be regarded as criminal justice on the cheap.”
The 20 offences the Ministry of Justice had planned to add to the PND list included threats to destroy or damage property, illegal taxi touting, selling cigarettes to a minor and unacceptable behaviour on a train.
The Magistrates' Association, the membership organisation for magistrates in England and Wales, met with Mr Straw earlier this year to express it's concerns about adding more offences.
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "We are committed to delivering justice in a quick, effective and transparent way. PNDs, like other out of court disposals free up police time and ensure that low-level crimes are dealt with quickly and effectively.
"Given the range of other disposals available to the police and the courts, we have decided not to extend the PND scheme at this time."
Last month, Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, launched a scathing attack on out of court penalties and warned the balance was "wrong" and needed reviewing.
A study by his force suggested that as many as 400,000 offenders given a fine or caution every year could be better dealt with by the courts.
That followed warnings in August by magistrates, disclosed by The Daily Telegraph, that police cannot be trusted to hand out summary justice.
In an extraordinary attack, the Magistrates' Association, said it is a "certainty" that officers will misuse powers because they cannot be "relied on" to handle them appropriately.
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