The taxpayer is footing an estimated $90,000-a-year bill as a result of people failing to pay fines meted out to them in court, The Royal Gazette can disclose.

The hefty sum goes toward paying court officers and Police faced with the job of tracking down nearly 1,000 people owing more than $300,000 worth of unpaid fines.

Magistrates' Court administrator Mr. Tracey Kelly said yesterday up to 200 warrants for non-payment of fines were issued a month.

He declined to comment on the reasons for the high number of defaulters. But it is understood there is much frustration among Police and court officers over the current system of allowing people time to pay their fines if they make such a request.

It is felt the system has got out of hand, with nearly everyone who asks a judge for time to pay fines, being given anywhere from a week to three months-plus to pay them.

They are then free to walk out of Magistrates' Court without even having to put down a deposit.

Police spokesman Sgt. John Dale said yesterday the force currently had three officers working full-time on executing warrants, while it was the duty of every officer to bring in someone if there was a warrant out for their arrest.

So far this year Police have arrested 2,186 people for non-payment of fines and not appearing court, Sgt. Dale said.

"It's a never-ending problem,'' he noted, adding it was Police who had the job of tracking down defaulters, which was "not easy''.

Mr. Kelly estimated it cost the courts seven dollars to process a warrant, which could be issued for someone owing a fine as small as $50 or one worth several thousand dollars.

But he said it cost Police far more because they were responsible for rounding up the offenders and bringing them to court.

Mr. Kelly guessed it cost Police $30 a warrant, though the figure was for finding those who failed to pay fines as well as those who failed to show up in court when summoned.

He pointed out that if there were not as many defaulters, then far less manpower would be needed to write up and execute warrants.

Mr. Kelly disclosed earlier this month that unpaid fines included: 222 criminal warrants amounting to $76,632; 110 warrants for non-payment of parking tickets worth $5,500; 422 summary jurisdiction warrants representing $82,495 in unpaid court fines issued by magistrates; Just under $135,500 for some 300 unpaid traffic fines 22 outstanding committal warrants empowering Police to make on-sight arrests of people in default of fine payments. The warrants represent $3,275 in non-payments.