Total unpaid fines and reparation owed in Northland has dropped over the past five years, as more people are seeking community work over fines.
Between 2009-10 and 2013-14 the total owed dropped from $38,862,899 to $24,971,032, but fluctuated slightly within that period, according to Ministry of Justice figures for Northland,including Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Dargaville, Whangarei and Warkworth.
Of those, 40.7 per cent of fines and reparation are overdue, while 59.5 per cent are being paid off or are not yet due, an improvement of 5.9 per cent in the same five-year period.
The ministry said new legislation passed in 2010 had resulted in more fines being paid.
Changes included judges being able to re-sentence a person to prison or home detention if reparation they were ordered to pay was unenforceable or unaffordable.
Information-sharing between the ministry and credit reporting agencies, Inland Revenue, and the Ministry of Social Development was also helping to reduce the amounts owed.
The total value of Northland fines imposed dropped from $16,847,114 to $9,112,887 in the past five years. Falling crime rates are leading to fewer fines being imposed nationwide, said Courts Minister Chester Borrows.
Whangarei barrister John Day said anecdotal evidence suggested there had been an increase in people seeking to have their fines remitted to community work, which could help explain the reduction in fines owed.
"We are seeing remittance of fines more frequently."
Ministry of Justice Collections general manager Bryre Patchell said nationally the Ministry collected just under of a quarter of a billion dollars in fines and reparation each year on behalf of victims, local authorities, and agencies such as the police.
About 90 per cent of the money collected was for traffic-related offences.
"The amount of outstanding fines and reparation are at levels that haven't been seen for a decade, with $560.57 million owning at April 30, 2014, down from about $806 million in 2009."
While the ministry attempted to seek full payment of fines or negotiate payment, enforcement actions were taken when required and the ministry's efforts were "paying off", he said.
The range of enforcement methods include claiming vehicles, seizing and selling property, making compulsory deductions from a person's income or bank account, issuing arrest warrants, suspending driver licences or preventing overseas travel.
