Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour
(issued by Northern Constabulary)
POLICE officers across the Highlands and Islands will have the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to perpetrators of a range of relatively minor anti-social behaviour related offences from Friday 7 September 2007.
This is part of a nationwide initiative to make areas of the Criminal Justice System more effective.
All Scottish forces will implement this new power. In fact a number of force have already gone live with the initiative and are starting to see the benefits of effectively dealing with low level crime and the freeing up of officer time as well as court time.
The offences covered by the Fixed Penalty Notices include;
The Fixed Penalty for these offences is currently set at £40.
A number of conditions have to be met before an officer can issue a Penalty Notice as opposed to taking the more traditional route of reporting such matters as such to the Procurator Fiscal.
Once a Penalty Notice has been issued the subject of the Notice has 28 days in which to pay the penalty or request a Court hearing. Should the person not respond to the Notice, the penalty is automatically registered as a fine of 1½ times the penalty and then Court processes are started in respect of recovering the outstanding amount.
Fines are payable to local District Courts or at the majority of Highland Council Service Points.
Should the person request a Court hearing, a Police report is submitted to the Procurator Fiscal for passage through the Court system as at present.
Northern Constabulary’s Head of Operations, Chief Superintendent Bruce Duncan said: “It is expected that the implementation of this Fixed Penalty scheme will provide Police with a new effective alternative means of dealing with low-level anti social offending, deliver swift, simple and effective justice that carries a deterrent effect and reduces the amount of time Police Officers spend completing paperwork and attending Court.
“This in turn will lead to an increase in the amount of time Officers can spend on the streets dealing with the multitude of matters which communities expect.”
The scheme is also being backed by Highland Council and Councillor Margaret Davidson, Chairman of the Council’s Housing and Social Work Committee, welcomed the introduction of the fixed penalty notice system.
She said: “This will provide a more efficient way for the Police to deal with those who commit certain minor crimes and offences, without the need to take the police officer off the street to prepare reports, thereby ensuring that such crimes/offences do not go unpunished, as sometimes happens, and without adding to administration and bureaucracy.
“With the combined resources of the statutory and voluntary agencies, I believe we can maintain and enhance the quality of life for our communities in the Highlands, and continue to enjoy the reputation of being the safest area of Britain.”