The Minister for Courts, the Honourable Rick Barker announced a review of the ‘Infringement System’ in March 2004. The review is being led by the Ministry of Justice in conjunction with the Law Commission. Proposals will be developed by the Ministry of Justice on ways to achieve a simpler, streamlined and more effective ‘Infringement System’.
A key issue for the review is the ability for individuals (particularly young people under the age of 25) to accumulate significant amounts of unpaid infringement fines, which have little prospect of being paid.
Litmus was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice to undertake qualitative research with twenty young infringers and ten family members to understand their perceptions and experiences of the ‘Infringement System’, which would contribute to how this issue is best addressed.
Note: This is a qualitative study which includes a thematic analysis of the interviewed young infringers’ and their families’ perceptions of the ‘Infringement System’ and suggestions for improvement. It is not possible to generalise these findings to the population of young infringers and their families as a whole.