Wednesday, Nov 18, 2015
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
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Mid Canty victims await $300,000 BY SUE NEWMAN
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More than $300,000 is owed to victims of crime in the Ashburton District, part of a $578 million national reparation and fines debt. Ministry of Justice figures show that for the year to June 30 outstanding reparation ordered in the Ashburton District Court totalled $298,527, with $30,061 outstanding from the Ashburton Youth Court. And while that amount might appear high, general manager collections, Bryre Patchell, said the ministry was committed to ensuring reparation was paid to victims and that it remained a credible sanction in New Zealand. “The ministry gives priority to collecting and enforcing the payment of reparation,” he said.
Ashburton’s unpaid reparation debt is a minnow among national figures, with the Christchurch District Court having $12.6 million worth of debt on its books. Timaru’s defaulters owe $1.3 million and Oamaru’s $400,000. The country’s largest debt has accumulated in the Manukau District Court, $14.2 million. People are given every incentive to pay their reparation debt, Mr Patchell said, including sanctions that can stop them travelling overseas or that can see drivers’ licences suspended. Judges also have been given the ability to re-sentence a person to prison or home detention if the reparation they have been ordered to pay is unenforceable or unaffordable, he said. Nationally the amount of outstanding reparation and fines has fallen by $80 million over the past five years.
Reparation payments vary, depending on a person’s income, whether they’re on a benefit or earning a wage or salary. They can also vary depending on whether the payment plan is voluntary or has been ordered by the court. The average amount is about $20 per week. At most Ashburton District Court sittings at least one person appearing is ordered to pay reparations. This year, the amount ordered has ranged from more than $14,000, with many ranging between $1000 and $1500, down to less than $50. The court can order an offender to pay a victim money if they have suffered emotional harm or had property damaged or lost as a result of a crime. The amount of reparation ordered is based on how much damage, loss or costs the victim has incurred and the offender’s ability to pay.
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