POLICE cut antisocial behaviour and vandalism by almost 20 per cent in just one year by handing offenders £40 on-the-spot tickets, it was revealed yesterday.
Fife Constabulary officers have issued 1,872 fixed penalty tickets since May 2007 for offences such as breach of the peace, vandalism, noise disturbance, urinating in the street or drinking in a public place.
The fines, issued to offenders over th
e age of 16 committing low-end crimes, have helped slash rates of antisocial offences and cut down paperwork.
Antisocial behaviour crimes in Fife fell by 18 per cent in 2007-8, with vandalism alone down by almost a fifth.
Almost 50 per cent of the penalties were issued to those in the 16-21 age group and 84 per cent of all tickets were handed to males.
Breach of the peace accounted for 34 per cent of the tickets, while 26 per cent were for drinking in public places.
Police say the reduction in paperwork also ensures more officers are out on the beat.
Chief Inspector Derek Finnie, of Fife Constabulary's criminal justice department, said the force would focus on tackling crime caused by alcohol misuse in the coming year.
He said: "These penalties are particularly effective in dealing with the kind of inconsiderate, nuisance behaviour which causes fear and alarm and annoyance for law-abiding people.
"The overall reduction in anti-social behaviour indicates that this is making people, who are usually first offenders who want to avoid a criminal record, think twice in the future," Chief Insp Finnie added.
"They also ensure a speedier, swifter and smarter form of justice which ensures both the police and courts can concentrate on the most serious cases.
"Instead of the offence being reported to the procurator- fiscal, with all the paperwork that entails, the police officer can issue a £40 on-the-spot fine to the offender.
"Fixed penalty tickets are an ideal way of both preventing drinking in public and tackling the crime and antisocial behaviour caused by the irresponsible use of alcohol."
The initiative follows a report last year, commissioned by the Scottish Executive, which recommended ministers consider extending a fixed penalty notice scheme for antisocial behaviour to include minor assaults, possessing drugs for personal use and shoplifting.
It came in the wake of an evaluation of a pilot scheme in Tayside. Researchers at the University of Abertay found the scheme saved police time by cutting paperwork, and appeared to have cut reoffending.
