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<p>This government believes that convicted adult offenders should pay towards the
costs of running the criminal courts. Recovering some of these costs from convicted
offenders will reduce the burden on taxpayers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>My department
has received representations from the magistracy and defence practitioners about the
criminal courts charge.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Only convicted offenders pay the criminal
courts charge. This means that those who are found not guilty by the courts will not
be required to pay the charge. We are confident that this mitigates against any adverse
effects that may distort offenders’ decisions.</p><p> </p><p>The provisions are purely
about recovering court costs and are completely separate from the offender’s sentence.
It would therefore go against the principles of the legislation to allow judicial
discretion regarding whether or not to impose the charge or the amount to impose.</p><p>
</p><p> </p><p>The government recognises the need to make sure offenders are given
a fair opportunity to pay the charge. The court is able to set payment terms in affordable
instalments. Offenders can also contact a fines officer at any point to request variations
in payment terms if their circumstances change. An offender can also apply to have
the charge cancelled after two years where they take all reasonable steps to pay it
and do not reoffend. It is for the court to decide whether all reasonable steps have
been taken to pay the charge, having regard to the offender’s personal circumstances,
such as unemployment or poor health.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The provisions include
a requirement to review the policy after three years.</p>
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