LAW'S IN A FINE MESS

Courts 'Put Cash Before Business'

LAW chiefs were last night accused of putting cash before public
safety -- by REFUSING to prosecute violent thugs.

A senior lawyer claims yobs who should be jailed are getting away with
small fiscal FINES.

And that means they can escape without even getting a criminal
record.

The Crown Office has also told local fiscals that people caught with
up to UKP100,000 of heroin or cocaine should be tried in a SHERIFF court
- -- so the longest sentence they face is five years.

The highly experienced lawyer said: "Scotland's criminal justice
system is being run like a business. It's all about profit and loss
these days.

"Giving out a fine instead of taking a case to court can save the
taxpayer UKP2,000.

"But this doesn't deter thugs from attacking people."

In Dundee recently, a man accused of assaulting a nurse at the city's
Ninewells Hospital escaped with just a UKP50 fixed penalty.

The legal insider added: "The beancounters have worked out that High
Court cases cost more than twice as much as those in sheriff courts.

"Drug traffickers know they can be out of jail in 2 years -- that's an
acceptable risk for them. The Crown Office is not helping the war on
drugs. It's RIDICULOUS."

Last night Scots Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken, above, blasted:
"This sends out completely the wrong signal to criminals."

The Crown Office denied that fiscals were making decisions based on
financial concerns. A spokesman added: "Each case is considered on its
own facts."