From Nathan Jordan.
I WAS surprised to hear that the Public Accounts Committee are considering transferring the costs of the Magistrate’s Court to convicted offenders (JEP, 6 March).

I feel this would inevitably create a two-tier justice system between those able to pay and those who cannot. We must also ask how we expect prisoners who have no income to pay court fees once incarcerated, unless of course we are willing to accept prison currency such as phone cards or Mars bars in lieu of cash.

Fortunately, the Home Affairs Minister seems to be researching another way to save costs by deporting prisoners not born in Jersey.

The 2005 inspection of HM Prison at La Moye stated that this constituted roughly half the prison population. At the time, the prison was also nearing capacity, which may be why the former Home Affairs Minister proposed in November 2007 that community punishments be used as an alternative to custody, where possible.

Her suggestion reminded me of a remark a friend of the family, a lay magistrate, once made: ‘The Magistrate’s Court pays for itself’.  However, he claimed this was achieved not through increasing fines to dizzying amounts but by using them more frequently as a punitive measure, reserving prison only for more serious offences.

Another more controversial way to free court resources could be to award the police powers to administer on-the-spot fines for minor offences, such as public drunkenness and breaches of the peace. As such fines do not constitute a criminal conviction, there is no need to appear in court and perhaps the monies gained could be used towards hiring a few more bobbies?