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31/07/2012
Thousands Jailed For Avoiding Court Fines
More than 2,000 people were jailed last year in Northern Ireland for not paying fines.
The number of people jailed for missing their payments has risen by 76% in the two years since 2010, when a report called for the practice to be minimized.
The number of imprisonments for defaulting on court orders was 2,179 last year.
In a follow-up review, the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland said that of 10 recommendations made in its 2010 report, five were only partially implemented and two not at all.
Justice Minister David Ford said he accepted more needed to be done.
He said: "It is because of this complexity that the justice system must develop a new approach to deal with fine defaulters rather than the old practice of sending people to prison for a few days at a time."
Acting chief inspector Brendan McGuigan said the practice was placing "tremendous pressure" on the prison service at an already-difficult time.
He said: "Work needs to be urgently taken forward to introduce the stricter regime, as envisaged in the original inspection report, which will produce a system of enforcement which addresses the current issues of public confidence in the justice system, the social and financial cost of short-term sentences for fine defaulters and the operational impact on the NICTS, the PSNI and the Northern Ireland Prisons."
(NE)
The number of people jailed for missing their payments has risen by 76% in the two years since 2010, when a report called for the practice to be minimized.
The number of imprisonments for defaulting on court orders was 2,179 last year.
In a follow-up review, the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland said that of 10 recommendations made in its 2010 report, five were only partially implemented and two not at all.
Justice Minister David Ford said he accepted more needed to be done.
He said: "It is because of this complexity that the justice system must develop a new approach to deal with fine defaulters rather than the old practice of sending people to prison for a few days at a time."
Acting chief inspector Brendan McGuigan said the practice was placing "tremendous pressure" on the prison service at an already-difficult time.
He said: "Work needs to be urgently taken forward to introduce the stricter regime, as envisaged in the original inspection report, which will produce a system of enforcement which addresses the current issues of public confidence in the justice system, the social and financial cost of short-term sentences for fine defaulters and the operational impact on the NICTS, the PSNI and the Northern Ireland Prisons."
(NE)
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