Guernsey introduces more fixed penalties

Fixed penalties for a greater range of offences will be introduced in Guernsey from 1 July.

States members approved the legislation at their meeting on Wednesday.

Home Minister Jonathan Le Tocq said the fines would save police and court time, which was currently spent dealing with relatively minor offences.

Offences covered by the tickets have been broken into three bands - A, B and C - which carry respective fines of £40, £70 and £100.

In each case the fine would be reduced by £10 if paid within seven days.

The new penalties will cover crimes such as dropping litter, the use of mobile phones while driving, control of dogs and boating offences.

Ch Insp Nigel Taylor said: "It will allow to give a more proportional response to low level offending; anti-social behaviour such as dog fouling, noisy vehicles, failing to produce insurance and other sort of administrative offences.

"As long as the offender is prepared to accept the fixed penalty ticket then it allows us to bypass the full prosecution and court case, which clearly not only saves us time but also saves the time of the courts as well."

He said the penalties were given out at the discretion of officers and repeat offenders would still be dealt with by the courts.