£4.4 billion owed by criminals

Criminals now owe a record £4.4 billion in unpaid fines and court fees, according to official figures. This sum is equivalent to the original budget set aside for building 20,000 prison places.

For the first time, ministers have revealed that unpaid fines have surpassed £1 billion, with an additional £3.4 billion owed in legal costs and confiscation orders imposed on convicted criminals. This £4.4 billion is nearly three times the £1.5 billion in unpaid fines and fees reported in 2010 and could fund the construction of 10 new prisons at current prices.

The figures have drawn criticism from victims' watchdogs and charities, whose budgets are facing cuts of over 4% as part of new government cost-saving measures.

Baroness Newlove, the Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales, expressed concern, saying, "At a time when vital victim support services are facing funding cuts, victims will be disheartened to learn that unpaid criminal justice fees have reached such staggering levels. Not only are victims being denied the compensation they deserve, but these fees are meant to fund essential services that aid their recovery."

Claire Waxman, the Victims' Commissioner for London, described the £1 billion in unpaid fines as "truly astounding" and a sign of a "poorly managed justice system." She highlighted that the figures include tens of millions owed under the victims' surcharge, a fee intended to fund services for victims.

"The failure to recover court fines must undergo urgent scrutiny, as victims are the ones suffering," Waxman added. Meanwhile, Victim Support, the main government-backed charity offering assistance to victims, is facing a £3.5 million shortfall in funding. This gap is partly due to a 4.2% budget cut, along with the rising cost of National Insurance employer contributions and inflation.

Katie Kempen, CEO of Victim Support, warned that people in crisis due to crime could be left without the support they need. "It is hard to understand how, as crucial support services for crime victims face unprecedented cuts, unpaid court fines have reached over £1 billion," she said.

Official data shows that unpaid fines have risen from £977 million in 2023 to £1.06 billion in 2024. Ministry of Justice research indicates that the repayment rate for court fines is about 50% after 12 months and continues to decline.

In addition to the fines, criminals owe £2.7 billion from confiscation orders aimed at recovering assets acquired through criminal activities such as drug trafficking. This is an increase from £2.5 billion in the previous year. The victim surcharge debt has also jumped more than a third, from £113.8 million to £151.5 million. Other unpaid amounts include compensation payments to victims and criminal court charges.

This comes amid an overcrowding crisis in prisons, with ministers resorting to an early release scheme to avoid a shortage of space. The overcrowding issue is worsened by record court backlogs, which are causing delays of up to five or six years for victims seeking justice in cases such as rape, fraud, and burglary.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson stated, "We do everything possible to ensure criminals pay what they owe, including deducting money from offenders' benefits or salaries, and they can face jail for non-payment."

The Johnson Partnership (formerly GV Hale)

Scunthorpe Crime Solicitors