CRIMINALS owe more than £12 million to Sussex’s courts, new figures reveal.

The outstanding bill of fines and costs imposed in the county totalled £12,189,588 at the end of the last financial year.

Just £3,823,916 of that came from penalties imposed in the 2013/14 financial year, according to the figures given to parliament this month by the under-secretary of state for justice, Shailesh Vara.

HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) says it “recognises that more must be done to improve fine collection” and is hiring an external company to help automate the admin and decrease enforcement costs.

A spokesman continued: “The innovation this will bring will free up staff time to be more pro-active in pursuing offenders to ensure they comply with their court order.

“Our message to fine dodgers is clear: pay up now or face the consequences.”

The figure owed to Sussex courts includes fines as well as orders for compensation, victim surcharge and costs.

It includes accounts that were not due to be paid by the end of the year, either because they had only just been imposed or were on an ongoing payment plan.

Courts frequently offer payment plans to people on low-incomes, such as paying a £90 fine off at £10 or £5 a week depending on their declared income.

The fines go into a central government pot for spending on public services.

Jackie Griggs, director of Brighton-based money management charity Money Advice and Community Support, said she believed sometimes people were simply unable to pay, rather than having a “cavalier” attitude. She said: “I imagine it may well be that if the courts are putting payment plans in place it may be that the plans are unrealistic.

“One of the reasons for that might be people not telling them the full extent of their financial situation.

“Quite often we find when people are referred to us that when you do a bit of digging around a lot more debts are revealed.

“So it can be all sorts of reasons rather than having a cavalier attitude.

“It could be that they think they can stick to it but then when it comes to it they cannot.”

The total amount owed to courts across England and Wales as of March last year is £548,811,012.