DPP calls for more on-the-spot fines

The Director of Public Prosecutions this week called for 'a massive increase' in the number of criminals punished with on-the-spot fines.>

Thousands more offenders should be dealt with without ever going before a court to save time and money, said Keir Starmer QC who runs the Crown Prosecution Service which is responsible for every criminal charge laid, 

The DPP said 70,000 criminals are brought before magistrates courts each year who would be better punished with an on-the-spot fine or a caution. Last year only 724,179 of the 1,445,712 offenders recorded as having been brought to justice were actually convicted before a court. Almost half were dealt with by on-the-spot fines, cautions, warnings or having their offence taken into consideration when another crime was dealt with.

Starmer's intervention signals a deepening row over the way hundreds of thousands of offences each year are handled by police officers, prosecutors or local councils.

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