Fixed Penalties Used to Bolster Conviction Rates
Leading members of the legal profession claim that cautions and fixed penalty notices are being overused as an alternative to court, in an effort to increase conviction rates.
The Magistrates' Association, representing more than 80% of JPs in England and Wales, has expressed concern that cautions and fixed penalties are increasingly being used for non-trivial offences.
Cindy Barnett, the association's chairman, said: "We have always had grave reservations about criminal offences other than very minor infringements being dealt with out of court.
"Anyone who has broken the law so as to merit a punishment should be dealt with in court with efficient use of resources to prevent reoffending."
The Police Federation of England and Wales has also raised concerns that frontline officers are under increasing pressure to improve conviction rates and free up court time.
I've always considered fixed penalty notices as policing on the cheap. They should only ever be used when the offence is totally indisputable.
Furthermore the notices are exploitative of the public's ignorance of the law. Most people would begrudgingly accept a notice - even if it was issued erroneously (maliciously?) - rather than face the daunting prospect of a court hearing. The police know this. They know that if they issue a notice - even on the most tenuous of grounds - it is unlikely to receive further scrutiny at court.
The upshot is they can pretty much hand these things out willy-nilly without any recourse.
That's wrong, whichever way you look at it.
The Magistrates' Association, representing more than 80% of JPs in England and Wales, has expressed concern that cautions and fixed penalties are increasingly being used for non-trivial offences.
Cindy Barnett, the association's chairman, said: "We have always had grave reservations about criminal offences other than very minor infringements being dealt with out of court.
"Anyone who has broken the law so as to merit a punishment should be dealt with in court with efficient use of resources to prevent reoffending."
The Police Federation of England and Wales has also raised concerns that frontline officers are under increasing pressure to improve conviction rates and free up court time.
I've always considered fixed penalty notices as policing on the cheap. They should only ever be used when the offence is totally indisputable.
Furthermore the notices are exploitative of the public's ignorance of the law. Most people would begrudgingly accept a notice - even if it was issued erroneously (maliciously?) - rather than face the daunting prospect of a court hearing. The police know this. They know that if they issue a notice - even on the most tenuous of grounds - it is unlikely to receive further scrutiny at court.
The upshot is they can pretty much hand these things out willy-nilly without any recourse.
That's wrong, whichever way you look at it.
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