1,000 people owing more than $300,000 in unpaid fines.

Transgressors range from people failing to pay parking tickets to those defaulting on fines for criminal offences such as assault.

Current figures show more than 1,000 warrants outstanding for non-payment of fines. They include: 222 criminal warrants, amounting to $76,632; 110 warrants for non-payment of parking tickets. Total parking fines outstanding are $5,500; 422 summary jurisdiction warrants, representing $82,495 in unpaid court fines, issued by magistrates; Just under $135,500 in unpaid fines for traffic offences. Magistrates' Courts estimate the fine total represents pay defaults by up to 300 people; and 22 outstanding committal warrants empowering Police to make on-sight arrests of people in default of fine payments. The warrants represent $3,275 in non-payments.

Magistrates' Courts administrator Mr. Tracy Kelly said the numbers are not significantly out of line with recent years. In March this year, total outstanding fines were $394,000.

"But it remains a problem,'' he said. "If we have $1 million outstanding, that represents a lot of money we have to collect.'' Magistrates' plea court each day is showing relatively minor success in getting defaulters into court. On Monday and Tuesday, eight people stood before the Senior Magistrate on summary jurisdiction warrants.

Defaulters included a William George Thomas of Pembroke, who had not paid a $1,500 fine for breaking, entering and stealing; David Whitter of Rambling Lane, Pembroke owing $500 for speeding 70 kilometres an hour; Kenneth Sinclair Raynor of Raynor's Drive, Warwick who had not paid a $250 fine for possession of drug equipment; and Dudley Butterfield of Granaway Heights, Southampton who owed a $50 fine for a stealing conviction.

Senior Magistrate the Wor. Will Francis gave all the defaulters more time to pay after they had explained why they had not been able to meet pay deadlines.

Police and the courts declined to comment on the reasons for the high number of defaulters.

Mr. Kelly was reluctant to attribute it to the current recession. He noted that the number of civil cases involving non-payment of bills and rent as well as damages awards were down by nearly 1,000 to 4,239 from 5,213 last year.