News Shorts and Other Busyness

Rise In Prison Sentences For Fine Defaulters

Squall 11, Autumn 1995, pg. 14.

The number of people imprisoned for fine default has gone up over a third since 1990, according to a report published by the Penal Affairs Consortium in July.

The increase for male defaulters between 1990 and 1994 was 35 per cent (from 15,814 to 21,303) and for female defaulters it was 68 per cent (from 842 to 1,420). The report also says that since 1990, there has been a seven fold increase in the number of people jailed for not paying poll tax or rates.