Men more likely to break emergency Covid restrictions in Wiltshire
They were for breaches of emergency restrictions
Over £4,600 worth of Covid fines were handed to dozens of people for breaching coronavirus laws in Wiltshire last year.
The financial penalties have been criticised by campaign groups who also say many nationally did not get a fair hearing due to the introduction a fast-track court process.
Ministry of Justice data shows in 2020, there were 38 court prosecutions in the area served by Wiltshire Police for breaches of restrictions introduced at the beginning of the pandemic.
The largest number of fines - 12 - ranged from £200 to £250 while two convictions resulted in fines of between £300 and £500. In total, £4,629 in fines were issued by the courts in Wiltshire.
All the convictions were for breaches of emergency restrictions.
The MoJ figures also show men were more likely to be convicted of breaching Covid laws in Wiltshire last year - in 21 of the 27 convictions where the sex and age were recorded, the defendant was male.
People aged between 40 and 49 accounted for the largest proportion of convictions.
COURTS CRITICISED FOR PENALISING
The fact-track process, known as the single justice procedure, is aimed at reducing paperwork and freeing up court time, but in a report, the Joint Committee on Human Rights, MPs and peers said it meant defendants were unable provide any reasonable excuse for why they breached the law.
Campaign groups including Fair Trials and Transform Justice have since sent a letter to the Government calling for the practice to be stopped.
Griff Ferris, legal and policy officer at Fair Trials, a criminal justice watchdog, said it was unjust for people to be criminalised and fined by an "opaque and unchecked process behind closed doors".
He added: "The single justice procedure is rushed justice, on the cheap, and it is completely inappropriate for assessing charges under confusing lockdown laws."
The MoJ said the decision to use the single justice procedure lay with the prosecutor.
A spokesperson said: "The single justice procedure allows those who plead guilty to low-level, non-imprisonable crimes to resolve their case without going to court - it would not be used for more serious offences.
"All defendants can request an open hearing and have their conviction voiced and reheard if necessary."
The MoJ figures also show men were more likely to be convicted of breaching Covid laws in Wiltshire last year - in 21 of the 27 convictions where the sex and age were recorded, the defendant was male.
People aged between 40 and 49 accounted for the largest proportion of convictions.