A family's freedom - £45!

It never rains, but it pours. I will write about my experiences in the Magistrates Court earlier today, but you'll have to wait a bit.

This morning two officers knocked on my friend Ronelle's door. They said there was a court order, and if she didn't pay £45 straight away they would have to take her into custody. Then they asked if there was anyone who could look after Ronelle's five month old daughter Shara. At the moment, on the spot, Ronelle couldn't think of anyone. She had no money at all. I know she has been short of food recently. Her husband is desparately trying to find some money that's promised to him in London.

My phone was off (I was in a hospital), so Ronelle rang my friend Alison. Ronelle and Alison have met because Alison is a bountiful distributor of things in the community (amongst other talents). She is an insatiable collector, knows many people who give things to her, and passes them on to good homes without a second thought. I've know Samuel and Ronelle for almost four years now, but in the last year things have been very difficult and they needed to know someone like Alison. Unfortunately Alison is also disabled and poor herself.

But faced with the prospect of a mother being sent to prison and her baby being taken into care if you can't find £45 to help, what option do you have? Just before I went to Court I got a message from Alison. She couldn't afford to have this money out of her account for more than 24hrs. After court I had no option but to reimburse Alison. I've just got back from trying to console and reassure Ronelle. Fortunately Shara is keeping her in cheerful company.

£45? The system is prepared to lock a woman up and take her baby into care for non-payment of a £45 fine? How much will this cost? It costs £3125 per month to keep someone in prison (source: Rethinking Crime and Punishment, a strategic initiative of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation). Recent research suggests it costs £633 per week to provide foster care in England, with a funding shortfall of £615.7million across England in 2005/6 (source: British Association for Adopting and Fostering, BAAF). This doesn't include the ongoing damage to family life. It doesn't include the fact that Ronelle would then have a criminal record and would probably find it more difficult to get work, even doing the minimum wage care work she aspires to. And it doesn't include the costs of the Court proceedings and Police time.

What's all this for? A couple of years ago the teenage Ronelle, fresh from Namibia, agreed to have a car registered in her name. The car was sold, but there was some problem with the registration documents. There was a parking fine. The new owner ignored it and Court letters were sent to Ronelle's old address so she never received them. They caught up with her finally when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant, very ill, and unable to attend Court. I sent a message to Court, but so much was happening at the time it all got swamped and forgotten about.

So here we have it: after a minor admin error a couple of years ago I have paid £45 to save a family.

What more can I say? What a ridiculous situation.