The number of persons against whom a fine was registered following the issue of a penalty notice for disorder (PND), by offence, in England and Wales for the years 2004 to 2007 can be viewed in the following table. Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Significant improvements are being achieved by the courts in the collection of fines. The Courts Act 2003 introduced a series of measures aimed at improving fine collection including deduction from earnings and benefits, seizure of goods and clamping of vehicles. We do not identify separately the payment rate of fines arising from PNDs, but the latest enforcement rate for all financial penalties is 85.2 per cent. for the period April to December 2008. The payment rates for the last four years are shown in the following table.
Payment rate (Percentage) 2004-05 80 2005-06 83 2006-07 92 2007-08 95
Fine registered Office description 2004 2005 2006 2007 £80 tickets issued Wasting police time 579 1,161 1,787 1,807 Misuse of public telecommunications system 58 140 319 431 Giving false alarm to fire and rescue authority 22 38 52 37 Causing harassment, alarm or distress2 13,125 26,754 35,154 33,021 Throwing fireworks 80 271 264 223 Drunk and disorderly 11,035 14,459 16,919 18,161 Criminal Damage (under £500)2 481 211 8,492 7,979 Theft (retail under £200)2 1,128 60 21,157 24,344 Breach of fireworks curfew 2 23 16 13 Possession of category 4 firework 6 70 15 10 Possession by a person under 18 of adult firework 7 4,702 21 31 Sale of alcohol to drunken person 0 11,927 9 9 Supply of alcohol to person under 18 0 14 7 11 Sale of alcohol to person under 18 10 8 390 405 Purchase alcohol for person under 18 21 15 122 211 Purchase alcohol for person under 18 for consumption on premises 0 6 20 22 Delivery of alcohol to person under 18 or allowing such delivery 10 1 99 138 £50 tickets issued Trespass on a railway 45 115 463 675 Throwing stones at a train/railway 25 5 6 10 Drunk in a highway 1,166 1,339 1,158 788 Consumption of alcohol in public place 349 499 749 1,090 Depositing and leaving litter 25 325 536 589 Consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises 4 16 17 16 Allowing consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises 2 12 4 1 Buying or attempting to buy alcohol by person under 18 0 8 20 35 All offences 28,180 62,179 87,796 90,057 1 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 2 Penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme commenced in November 2004. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Evidence and Analysis Unit.