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PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 22:17 
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Daily Mail here
Daily Mail - By Emily Allen wrote:
Motorists to be hit with £100 speeding fines as they bear the brunt of Ken Clarke's new victim surcharge
By Emily Allen - Last updated at 9:50 PM on 30th January 2012

Government wants to raise another £50m a year to help crime victims
Criminals will no longer be able to claim compensation
Victims who suffer minor injuries will no longer be compensated

Speeding drivers could see their fines soar by 60 per cent to £100 to help fill a £50million funding gap for victims of crime, it has been revealed.
About £20 from each fine will go to the victims' fund under a major review of help for victims of crime by the Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke.
Current £60 fines, which are dished out to motorists caught driving, using their mobile phones, speeding, and not wearing a seatbelt, could rise to between £80 and £100.
Current £60 fines which are dished out to motorists caught driving, using their mobile phones and speeding, could rise to between £80 and £100
Motorists who tailgate, undertake or cut up other drivers could be handed the fine rather than being taken to court.
The so-called Victims’ Surcharge currently raises about £10 million each year, but the Government spends about £66 million on victim and witness support services.

At the moment, only people who are fined by courts pay the £15 surcharge levy, but Mr Clarke wants to extend this to all criminals, including those jailed for the most serious offences.
He also wants to introduce a sliding scale which could rise up to £120 depending on the seriousness of the offence.
It is hoped this will generate another £50million a year.
Ken Clarke believes the total spending levels on victims should remain the same

'The balance is wrong,' the consultation document says.
'By increasing the rate ordered on fines and extending it to the full range of sentences ordered in court, and also by using increased revenue from penalty notices for disorder and motoring fixed penalty notices (FPN), we aim to raise up to an additional £50 million each year.'
Asked if the money from larger fines for driving offences would be used to help victims, Mr Clarke said: 'Raising more money from offenders by the surcharge is in order precisely to improve the service we provide to victims of crime.'
The document proposes that anyone jailed for more than two years would also have to pay a £120 surcharge, while those sentenced to six months or less in prison would face a surcharge of £80.
The Government also plans to increase the maximum amount that can be deducted from benefits to repay the surcharge from £5 a week to £25 a week, 'ensuring that offenders pay more, more quickly'.
Meanwhile, criminals will no longer be able to claim compensation for being victims of crime - if they are injured in a prison fight for example - under the taxpayer-funded Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS).

In the last year alone, more than 3,000 prisoners and ex-prisoners made claims to the scheme.
Figures show around 20,000 offenders have received more than £75 million from the scheme in the last ten years.
About £20 from each motoring fine will go to the victims' fund under a major review of victim services by the Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke
About £20 from each motoring fine will go to the victims' fund under a major review of victim services by the Government
Mr Clarke said the 'scheme in its current form is not sustainable'.

In addition, victims who suffer sprained ankles, broken toes or bruised ribs would no longer be entitled to compensation too, Mr Clarke said.
He said the plans would see payouts target the most serious injuries and prioritise high-quality practical help, rather than helping those with relatively minor injuries.

Mr Clarke also said the compensation scheme would be extended to help British victims of terror attacks abroad.
Current levels of compensation are based on 25 bands, ranging from band one, which attracts a payout of £1,000, to the most serious band, 25, at £250,000.

CRIMINALS TO LOSE RIGHT TO COMPENSATION
The planned shake-up includes:
1. Ending payments for minor injuries such as sprained ankles, cuts and grazes
2. Criminals will be stopped from claiming compensation for injuries and psychological damage
3. The new proposals would see the victim surcharge rise from a flat rate of £15 to £120 and would apply to every offender
4. An increase of speeding fixed penalty fines from £60 to £100, with the £5,000 cap on fines which can be levied by magistrates' courts removed

Under the proposals, the lower five tariffs would be scrapped and would no longer attract any compensation, payouts for bands six to 12 would be reduced, and the top 13 bands - the most serious - will remain unchanged, Mr Clarke said.
The Justice Secretary also announced a new victims’ code, 'so victims know what to expect during the investigation and trials process, and know where to turn when things go wrong'.
The current system has 14 different routes of complaint and it was unacceptable that 'victims report being told too little too late about the progress of their case'.
Mr Clarke told MPs: 'The overall ambition of the changes is that total spending levels on victims should remain the same.
'However, I believe the proposals we are consulting on today will mean that finite funding will be used more wisely.
'Instead of compensation going to those with less grave injuries and those who have been breaking the law, it will be targeted where it counts - on the most serious injuries.
'The support services which many victims need as much as - or more than - compensation will be available when required, paid for as far as possible by offenders, not the taxpayer.
'For families bereaved by homicide, and those affected by serious violent and sexual crimes, these reforms will move compensation onto a sustainable footing, and at the same time improve the quality and availability of practical support and advice.
'This constitutes intelligent, radical reform to sort out a system that isn’t working, and give a better deal to victims.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1lM39MPX0
Further articles from The Telegraph here and from MCN here.

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 00:37 
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article wrote:
Speeding drivers could see their fines soar by 60 per cent to £100 to help fill a £50million funding gap for victims of crime

... we aim to raise up to an additional £50 million each year.'

...

Raising more money from offenders by the surcharge is in order precisely to improve the service we provide to victims of crime.'

Who in their right mind would say that motorists aren't cash cows!

Drop a few more limits every year to guarantee your revenue!

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 03:51 
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Yep utterly appalling actions. If he asked perhaps everyone would rather give him £1-£10 and then he'd have 62Million. I'd rather do that, than make the victims of a speed camera shooting forced to find even more funds.
Better than this why not make the real criminals pay for their crimes ? They have all sorts of rights to possess goods and sell them etc so is that not (all) enough ?

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 14:36 
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Has anyone here been a victim of crime, and received any payout?

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 16:09 
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That's a bit like asking the Pope if he wants to buy a packet of condoms...;-)

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 13:26 
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Well we all pay for insurances of various kinds so that when we have a problem we hope they will pay out (meets all their terms and conditions). The only way I have ever had a pay out is from insurances that I have had in place or re-bought burgled items. When I had a bike incident the chap had his insurance provide me with some funds. No one else was involved.
So perhaps 'working prisons' so that when you are burgled the person goes to a working prison where they work off what they stole and work off your 'pay out for the inconvenience and stress etc. If they are paid a low wage then they will be in prison for a long long time. Perhaps as well their earnings pay for their food too ?
That way the State pays for the upkeep and provision of the prison and guards etc.
Why should motorists pay for a speed incident that has not caused any damage to people or property?

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 14:23 
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Who is the victim of a speeding 'crime'?


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:21 
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The "victims" surcharge has long been used as a "pot" of cash to fund some rather weird "organisations"......
Theoretically ONLY criminals are forced to contribute to this support structure for staffing of organisations who only represent themselves, in the end.
Of course, IF speeding was not a criminal offence then no victims surcharge would be levied. But why exclude a rather large pot of cash that can be plundered.
Now, if you are a victim of crime OR a witness to same, you will get a letter from "victim support" and access to counselling etc....AND compensation.
Funnily enough, even criminals have access to this.
YCMIU.

Quote:
Crispin Blunt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Prisons and Probation), Justice; Reigate, Conservative)
Proceeds from the Surcharge are ring-fenced to fund non-financial support services for victims and witnesses. Funds derived from the Surcharge will contribute to the following for 2010-11:
£0.84 million to fund Independent Domestic Violence Adviser Services

######£2.6 million to the Crown Prosecution Service as a contribution to the cost of providing Witness Care Units#####

######£7 million to the Victim Support National Centre to fund enhanced services to victims and witnesses###########

Additionally, £1.75 million has been allocated to the Victims Fund, which contributes to #####the funding of organisations who support victims of sexual violence, hate crime and homicide.#######

The total budget for services provided above is £12.19 million. It is estimated that the Victim Surcharge contribution will be approximately £10.4 million in 2010-11.

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