A third of criminals who reject the offer of a fiscal fine are still ‘let off completely’ despite SNP ministers being warned repeatedly about the ‘loophole’.
The Scottish Conservatives said the situation is a ‘slap in the face to victims’.
The Crown Office is allowed to offer a financial penalty of up to £500 as an alternative to a criminal prosecution in cases including assault, shoplifting, anti-social behaviour and drug offences.
In June 2021, then Deputy First Minister John Swinney told MSPs that if a person declined the offer, it would be ‘treated as a request by the alleged offender to be prosecuted for the offence’.
He said ‘safeguards are built in to the operation of fiscal fines’ and the non-mandatory penalties let cases be dealt with outwith court, freeing up resources.
But within days it emerged 411 of the 1,344 people who rejected an offer in the previous three years, or 30 per cent, were subject to no further action from prosecutors. Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said at the time it showed offenders knew they could ‘break the law with impunity’.
Now figures have revealed 33 per cent of rejected fiscal fines in 2024-25 also led to the cases eventually being dropped.
Out of 170 fine refusers, 57 saw no further action, 22 were prosecuted and not convicted, and only 15 were prosecuted and convicted.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman said the figures were ‘unacceptable’
More than a third of criminals who refuse a fiscal fine are let off
The remaining cases are still ongoing. The Conservatives said the figures showed a third of people were ‘let off completely’.
Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘These unacceptable figures are a slap in the face to victims of crime who are routinely let down by this weak SNP government.
‘Fiscal fines are commonly used for anti-social behaviour and shoplifting and, given the significant increase in these offences, it is hardly surprising the number of these fines issued has skyrocketed.
‘When the Scottish Conservatives warned about this loophole in 2021, John Swinney told us there was nothing to see here.
‘But four years later absolutely nothing has changed and one in three offenders is getting away with no punishment at all.
It’s time to close this loophole to ensure any rejected fiscal fine automatically results in the offender being prosecuted.’
In 2022-23, the last year with full figures available, 3,410 people received fiscal fines for drug possession, 2,206 for antisocial offences, 954 for shoplifting, 397 for common assault, 139 for vandalism, 71 for supplying drugs and four for causing someone to look at sexual activity or images without their consent.
The Crown Office denied a third of those declining fiscal fines were ‘let off completely’, as prosecutors had ‘a range of legitimate reasons to take no action’.
A spokesman said: ‘If a fine is not accepted, prosecutors will assess whether further action is in the public interest, based on the details of the individual case.
‘Effective prosecution doesn’t always mean going to court.
‘In some cases, offering an alternative such as a fiscal fine can be a proportionate response.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The vast majority of fiscal fines are accepted with a very small proportion rejected.
‘Fiscal fines have been part of the criminal justice system for decades and are an appropriate means of allowing less serious offending to be appropriately dealt with outside of the courts.’
