Court fines pass the $3M mark

Press, 29 January 1986, Page 4

Court fines pass the $3M mark

Fines imposed for offences dealt with in District Courts in Christchurch last year exceeded $3 million for the first time. Judges imposed fines totalling $3,093,283 last year, compared with $2,568,583 in 1984. Most areas of the District Courts’ business were comparable to the previous year. However, the year produced substantially increased work for the probation service. Police, traffic, and miscellaneous prosecutions (including Customs, Inland Revenue and other government departments, and local body prosecutions) totalled 44,999 cases last year, compared to 45,628 cases in 1984. Of this total 29,842 cases were traffic, compared to 32,061 in 1984.

The over-all total also includes 1892 cases heard in the Children and Young Persons Court last year (1715 in 1984). Police, miscellaneous and childrens’ court cases showed an increase of 11.72 per cent for the year. They rose from 13,567 cases in 1984 to 15,157 last year. Family court proceedings applications rose by 39, to 1583. Applications to the court for dissolutions of marriage were down by 119, to 996. There were 3210 applications filed last year for legal aid. This was an increase of 379 applications, or 13.39 per cent, on 1984.

Of these, the number of legal aid applications granted increased by 38.01 per cent — from 1994 in 1984, to 2752. Court sitting days totalled 162 by Judges (1625 the previous year) and 411 by Justices of the Peace (434). Most court sitting time was occupied on police cases, 866 days (833), with other main categories including traffic 250 (208), civil cases 184 (194), and Family Court 343 days (382).

For the first time last year, Justices of the Peace presided at some

traffic list hearings, and their time accounted for 66 days, of the total of 250 days on this work. The total sitting hours were 4485 by District Court Judges (5480 in 1984) and 842 hours by Justices of the Peace (600). Christchurch has 10 resident District Court Judges. WORKLOAD UP Probation officers handled a greatly increased workload last year, particularly in the last quarter with the coming into force of the new Criminal Justice Act on October 1. The number of probation officers was increased by three, to 26, during the year, but the number of probation reports called for on offenders before sentencing increased by nearly 50 per cent — from 2530 reports in 1984 to 3859 last year. Also, probation officers made 444 community service assessments. The number of persons released on community service was 207 (245 in 1984). Probation staff also administered more periodic detention orders imposed by the courts, 1160, compared with 1128. The district probation officer, Miss Wilma Brady, said the revised Criminal Justice Act — the first since 1954 — had imposed Increased work for the probation service because there were more reports which could be requested by the courts before sentencing of defendants.

Emphasis had been made in the Act on placing offenders back in the community. Community care, reparation and parole reports were now often requested, as well as probation reports. There were now also reports and recommendations sought on half-date release applications, on behalf of prisoners half-way through prison sentences. Miss Brady said more probation officers would be needed in Christchurch this year to cope with the increased work demand.