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Daily Mail, Friday, 9th March 2007
Motorists fined by the courts will be forced to pay an extra 15 surcharge to compensate victims of crime. The scheme will later be extended to cover drivers who pick up fixed penalty notices for breaking the speed limit.
Driving groups last night reacted angrily to the charge saying it was yet another attack on motorists. The surcharge scheme which comes into force next month across England and Wales, covers not only driving offences, but any offence punishable by a court fine. It was originally intended that more serious offenders such as those guilty of Violence - would pay more. But court computers were unable to cope with the complexities of a sliding scale, so a flat £15 extra will be levied. The cash raised initially expected to be £16 Million a year will be used for victim support and counselling.
Edmund King executive director of the RAC Foundation said, It does not seem fair that someone who was killed or murdered should pay the same surcharge as somebody who, at 1 am, with nobody around has gone 5 miles over the limit. But a spokesman for victim support said, There is no such thing as a victimless crime and each year we deal with hundreds who are bereaved as a result of road accidents.
A Home Office spokesman said The Government is committed to putting victims at the heart of the criminals justice system. Motorists are not being singled put all offences deemed serious enough to go to court and result in a fine will be subject to the surcharge.
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