(UK) Criminals to have weekly benefits docked by up to £25 to pay fines

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

People on benefits who are fined in court could face a fivefold increase in the amount docked from their weekly payments to cover the penalty, David Cameron will announce on Saturday as the government response to the riots is intensified.

Under the plans, the maximum weekly payment taken from benefit payments to pay off fines will rise from £5 to £25.

Cameron has been pressing hard for a series of measures to crack down on benefit recipients who commit crimes in the wake of the disturbances. Figures from the Ministry of Justice showed that more than a third of those who appeared in court after the riots were on benefits, including more than 200 on disability benefits.

Cameron will say in Perth: "People need to understand if they commit a crime they will face the consequences. The system as it stands at the moment is far too soft and does not send the right signal.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/29/criminals-benefits-docked-pay-fines

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The 1996 welfare reform bill in the US banned people with felony warrants or parole/probation violators from public benefits and threw convicted felons off the rolls for life.

[provis99]

1. typical dumbass conservative thinking.

They were rioting because they were poor, you dumbass tories. How is making them poorer going to help? Dumbasses.

[fasttense]

2. Oh yes, the time honored tradition of paying for your own jailing.

It has been going on since the 1800 when your family would have to bring you food, water, medical attention and warm clothes if you were arrested and jailed. If your family couldn't afford it, and you couldn't pay well...many a person died from starvation and cold in prison.

And have they tried any of the hundreds of banksters that have caused this economic collapse?

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. No, this is about paying fines, not jail time

If they are convicted of something and fined, not imprisoned, the court can order the fine is paid by taking the money directly from their benefits - currently at a maximum of £5 a week. This will make the maximum rate £25 a week, though the court will still set the level - £25 won't be automatic. So the claim is that some people are getting benefits that allow them to spare £25 a week and still get by. In many cases, they couldn't spare £25, I'm sure - we'll have to hope the courts aren't as draconian as the Tories would like them to be.