Fines going unpaid in three of four Yorkshire police forces

During the Coronavirus pandemic, people breaching the rules have been issued but it seems that they haven't always been paid.

What are the fines?

The fines that have been issued are in relation to people breaking the national coronavirus restrictions. These fines start at £200 and double after every following rule-break, which can reach up to £6400, and If you are having a large gathering, it can be shut down by the police and the organiser may face a fine of £10,000.

These fines that have been issued have been for breaking the coronavirus rules by meeting with groups of more than 2 people, mixing with another household, and not wearing face masks when required in places such as shops and public transport. With the fines on businesses, these are larger, but just like the public fines, business fines also go up in stages, starting at £1000 and working its way up to £10,000 for repeat offences.

How many of the fines are actually going unpaid?

In West Yorkshire, a whole 497 of 756 fines went unpaid, around 66% of the fines, and in South Yorkshire only 150 of the 375 fines were paid, leaving 225 unpaid fines, around 60%. The Cleveland police force saw the highest numbers of unpaid fines, with a huge 72% of 298 fines not being paid, with data going on to show that North Yorkshire issued the most fines in England, (1151) with 41% of these going unpaid.

With 2 of the Yorkshire forces with the most unpaid fines, Cleveland and West Yorkshire, Cleveland went on to rescind 21% of the fines, while West Yorkshire Police went on to rescind 29%.

What has been said about this?

With the huge amount of unpaid fines, Kirsty Brimelow QC, a human rights barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, was left feeling like she needed to speak up regarding the issue, saying that it was “predictable” that fines would stop being paid, and that with some people unable to pay the fine they have received, and some not feeling like they should have to, it comes to the point where people start to think that the people in power have just “acted as if the laws don’t apply to them”.

The NPCC last week claimed that they had resolved the issue of unpaid fines by stating that anyone that had received a Fixed Penalty Notice would be made fully aware of the right they have to fight it in court, whilst stating that ““If any individuals are concerned about why they have received a fine, they can raise it with the force which issued the FPN within the 28-day payment period”.

But the real question is whether this will actually make a difference with so many fines being left unpaid so far.