A 2005 photo of the downtown tax collectorate. According to National Road Safety Council statistics, traffic-fine payments have slumped since January. - File

A plunge in the compliance rate of traffic fine payments has been blamed on delays in the judicial system, as well as the failure of Government to track offenders.

Traffic fine payments have fallen from a high of 80 per cent in 2007 to a low of 30 per cent since January, according to data presented during a National Road Safety Council full council meeting at the Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston earlier this month.

Traffic czar, Superintendent Fred Hibbert, told The Gleaner last week that systemic deficiencies hampered the collection of fines.

According to Hibbert, though the current system allows for a warrant to be issued for failure to attend court, this was seriously hindered as many offenders provide false information when initially questioned by the police.

The persons who have committed the traffic offence, and not the motor vehicle owners, are subject to prosecution.

Database needed

Hibbert urged state authorities to establish a database linking the police, tax authorities and courts to more efficiently track down offenders.

Leighton Beckles, public relations officer at the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), indicated that it was the responsibility of the law enforcers to ensure compliance, adding that the IRD "is the agency responsible for collecting the fines".

"More needs to be done by the police to find these offenders," he said.

Beckles insisted that a system was already in place for the police to tap into their network to determine whether fines had been paid.

But some members of the public blame the police for gridlock in the courts.

George Thompson, a returned resident of Manchester, stated that he had gone to court on three occasions for a traffic offence he denies committing. "(However), no police have turned up," Thompson said.