Nearly £800,000 in victims’ compensation unpaid by offenders

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), responding to a Freedom of Information request from The Herald, confirmed that nearly nine per cent of compensation orders since 2011/12 had not been collected.

Offenders had been ordered across sheriff and JP courts to pay compensation to the tune of £9.4 million in that period, of which £837,515 is still outstanding.

Last year, compensation orders totalled £1,272,961, of which £309,885 has gone unpaid. In 2016/17, the orders totalled £1,237,618 and £92,238 remains unpaid.

In 2014/15, compensation orders totalled £1,692,538 and a massive £305,127 remains unpaid to this day.

Between 2011/12 and 2013/14, victims were granted compensation of £3,830,052 but £64,944 is still unpaid.

A spokesperson for the SCTS said: “If an offender defaults in the payment of a compensation order enforcement mechanisms will be commenced.

“The SCTS’s investment in an automated process allows any default to be detected early.

“Where any warning is ignored our officers will seek to make personal contact and thereafter apply administrative sanctions to secure compliance.

“Consistently strong collection rates are the clearest indicator that the SCTS is committed to rigorously enforcing all orders.”