Hume and Whittlesea residents are among the worst in the state for not paying their fines.
Latest data from the sheriff’s office reveals that in 2015-16, Hume residents had more than $107 million in outstanding fines – the second highest debt in the state.
The sheriff tracked 28,170 people with 282,925 outstanding warrants, owing an average of $3811 each, mostly for traffic offences.
Whittlesea residents owed close to $69 million, with 23,751 people responsible for 179,760 outstanding warrants.
Casey took out the top spot, with its residents owing $137 million, while across the state, the number of infringements issued in 2015-16 fell 4.6 per cent.
Long-term unpaid fines resulted in a seven per cent increase in the number of warrants issued to recover $1.8 billion in outstanding debts.
Sheriff Brendan Facey said some people are not getting the message.
“We want people to speak to us about their options before they are caught,” he said. “Fines can quickly escalate … you may be issued with a red-light infringement in January with a penalty of $389. By June, if you ignored your fine, the total penalty could be $576.60.”
Mr Facey said sheriff’s officers had the authority to suspend licences, clamp wheels and seize the assets of people with outstanding warrants.
