Court cases bust budget

Ian Hadland
Ian Hadland
Expensive court cases have blown out an Otago Fish & Game  budget by more than 600%.

Operations manager Ian Hadland said the organisation had budgeted $3000 for prosecution costs for the financial year ending this Thursday.

But as of yesterday, more than $18,000 had been spent on prosecutions, while $6345 had been recovered in court fines.

A trend was emerging of ‘‘people trying their luck in the judicial process and using the court system very well to cause delays and impose unnecessary costs on prosecution agencies’’, he said.

The year had been ‘‘particularly bad for difficult cases’’.

Two ‘‘drawn-out’’ angling prosecutions, both of anglers for providing false information to rangers and fishing without licences, cost the council about $16,000 in legal fees.

From the two prosecutions, $4600 was recovered in fines, he said.

Although 90% of court fines were returned to Fish & Game to cover the cost of prosecution, the money seldom went that far.

But the prosecutions sent a message to other fishers to comply and signalled Fish & Game was ‘‘not afraid to take people to court just because of the costs’’, Mr Hadland said.

‘‘Legitimate anglers and hunters have an expectation that we will find transgressors and bring them to justice, just as we always have done.’’

Fish & Game costs

  • Prosecution action ranges from written warnings to court prosecution.
  • About 90% of offenders dealt with via reparation or instant fines.
  • When fines are unpaid or there are aggravating circumstances, such as false names being given or obstruction of rangers, a court prosecution is prepared.

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