On-The-Spot Fines Introduced To Speed Up The Justice System

New on-the-spot fines could speed the justice system up and send 1,500 less people to court each year, David Ford has said.

The Justice Minister was joined in Belfast by the PSNI's Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton, to announce a scheme that allows police officers to slap fixed penalties on people caught drinking in public places.

The scheme comes into force next week, on June 6.

Mr Ford said: "Fixed penalty notices are about delivering speedy, effective and proportionate justice responses to a range of low level offences. Currently two-thirds of all crimes prosecuted through our courts result in the offender receiving a fine of £100 or less. Many of these cases involve individuals with little or no previous offending history, who have committed relatively minor offences which they admit in court. Fixed penalty notices will allow for these cases to be dealt with in a more efficient and proportionate way and at the same time free up vital resources within the criminal justice system."

A first-time offender could get a £40 fine for being drunk in a public place, or an £80 fine for disorderly behaviour.

Accepting the fine would allow offenders to avoid a criminal record.

ACC Hamilton said: "By issuing the fixed penalty notices, we cut down on the number of cases that are forwarded to the Public Prosecutions Service which in turn reduces bureaucracy and allows officers to spend more time out on the beat."

The move comes just days after Mayor of Bangor James McKerrow said the law against drinking in public should be more strictly enforced.

He was speaking after thousands of party-goers descended on a North Down beach and left five tonnes of litter behind.

(NE)