Attorney General Joe Berinson today outlined tough new measures to make people meet their obligations to pay fines.
The initiatives would have the further benefit of reducing the number of fine-defaulters being imprisoned in Western Australia.
In a statement to Parliament, the Attorney General said Western Australia's imprisonment rate remained stubbornly high, requiring new and innovative strategies.
People being imprisoned for refusing to pay fines even though they had the means to do so would be a particular target.
"These people are being received into the prison system at enormous expense to the taxpayer with little, if any, benefit gained from their incarceration," Mr Berinson said.
"When you consider that offenders currently can pay fines by instalment, request extra time to pay, or convert the fine to work orders, there is no justification for allowing them to choose imprisonment instead."
The Attorney General said the Government was particularly keen to end the annual intake of about 450 fine-defaulters imprisoned for failing to pay fines imposed for drink-driving offences.
"On that basis, we are considering the adoption of a NSW scheme where people who refuse to pay driving-related fines have their driver's licence or vehicle licence suspended until the fine is met. This is in lieu of imprisonment for default," he said.
Suspension would only occur where the offender failed to respond to advice regarding non-payment of fines. Notices of proposed cancellation would allow a further 21 days during which payment could be made. Licences would be reinstated when work orders were completed or outstanding fines and penalties paid.
In another move, Mr Berinson said legislation now before Parliament would allow goods to be confiscated from offenders who refused to pay fines, despite being able to do so. This would apply to all types of fines.
When the system was in place, people who had the capacity to pay fines would no longer be able to convert to work orders or cut out the fine in prison. If they refused to pay, property would be confiscated.
Offenders who were assessed as being unable to reasonably pay a fine would still be able to convert to a work order.
Mr Berinson said the planned introduction next year of unit fines would reinforce the fairness of the strengthened enforcement provisions.
Based on European provisions, unit fines take direct account of an offender's capacity to pay, by measuring the seriousness of an offence in units which then convert to dollars according to the offender's disposable income.
A further plan to set up mobile work camps, based on the Northern Territory and Queensland experience, would also help remove fine-defaulters and other minor offenders from prisons.
The camps would allow low security prisoners to undertake community work in remote areas. Consideration was now being given to pilot camps in the Peron National Park at Shark Bay and the Eastern Goldfields.
Mr Berinson said the camps would remove offenders from the potentially contaminating effects of traditional prisons, while providing work experience and an opportunity to compensate the community.
Queensland had estimated the value of work from their mobile camps at $5 million in the first 12 months of operation. It had not displaced paid employees as it was all work which would not otherwise have been done.
Mr Berinson said reforms already implemented by the Government had successfully reduced the number of people being imprisoned solely for fine-default from 2,877 in 1990-91 to 1,845 in 1991-92. However, the figure was still far too high, and required further attention.
