In 1993, 77 percent of all persons convicted were fined. Fines were imposed for 91 percent of summary motoring offenses, 84 percent of other summary offenses, and 34 percent of indictable offenses. In 1994, 27 percent of all sentenced prisoners and 41 percent of those given sentences of 6 months or less were imprisoned for fine default. The use of imprisonment for most fine defaulters, however, is not recommended. Instead, a means-related fine system should be introduced. Courts should be required to obtain and consider a report about a defaulter's circumstances before imprisoning him or her for fine default, and legal aid should be available to those who face imprisonment due to fine default. Further, courts should review fines at the default stage and should be empowered to replace a fine with a more appropriate noncustodial sentence. Finally, imprisonment should not be available as a sanction for fine default if the original offense was nonimprisonable. 15 references