It is the means of casual conversation for millions around the world, and now Britain’s Court and Probation services are to use text messaging to keep tabs on offenders.

Messages such as “U R du @ mags court tmrw @ 10” and “Ur £200 fine outstanding. Pls pay soonest” are intended to improve fine enforcement and prevent adjournments when defendants fail to appear in court. Texting is now being piloted by the Probation Service to remind offenders on community penalties of their appointments with probation officers. The Office for Criminal Justice Reform is also using texts to remind defendants to attend court hearings.

Both moves follow a successful pilot scheme in northwest England in which offenders were sent a text when they failed to pay their fine.

The National Enforcement Service said that text messages could be sent either singularly or in bulk to mobile phones via the internet. The messages would remind offenders either to pay fines or to attend court. It added that texting was a more modern approach to enforcing the payment of fines, particularly for attempting to contact offenders who led chaotic lifestyles.

Mike Hems, director of the National Enforcement Service, said: “Rigorous enforcement is crucial in ensuring compliance with the orders of the court. Courts can no longer rely on traditional methods alone to collect fines.”

A statement from the Ministry of Justice said: “A review to determine the effectiveness of text messaging as a means of ensuring offenders’ compliance and highlight areas of best practice is currently under way and will report in due course.” The level of court fines outstanding in England and Wales in March was £486 million.

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