The majority of the 19,162 penalties in England and Wales - up from the previous record high last year of 13,443 - were issued by private enforcement companies contracted by councils, the research found.
These companies are paid per fine and so, argue civil liberties campaigners, they have an incentive to issue as many as possible.
"These fines are clearly not fit for purpose," said Josie Appleton, the author of the report by a group called the Manifesto Club, which campaigns against what it calls "the hyper-regulation of everyday life".
Denne historien er fra December 07, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra December 07, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Police investigation into Post Office is of 'unprecedented' size
The police criminal inquiry into the Post Office has identified dozens of persons of interest so far, as a team bolstered to 100 officers investigates the actions of executives, legal teams and civil servants connected to the Horizon IT scandal.
Tories are in an echo chamber chamber with their leader set to self-destruct, luckily for Labour
It could have been Farage or Anderson asking the questions. Badenoch was hellbent on annexing the Reform agenda
Assad's downfall planned by US and Israel, claims Iran's supreme leader
Iran's supreme leader has claimed the US and Israel acted as the command centre that engineered the downfall of Syria's former president, Bashar al-Assad, and the ousting of Iran from the country.
Islamic State Begum and 65 other Britons in prisons face uncertainty amid offensive
Shamima Begum and 65 other Islamic State-linked Britons detained in prisons and camps in north-east Syria face an uncertain future as Turkish-backed rebel groups continue an offensive against the Kurdish groups who guard them.
Golan Heights Druze population on Syrian border fear territorial battles
On the outskirts of the Druze village of Majdal Shams, high in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a gate in the fence leads to the supposedly demilitarised buffer zone on the Syrian side.
What will US do now? The risks raised by a hands-off approach
For a Biden administration in its final days, managing the downfall of Bashar al-Assad was not on the cards.
'Finally we can breathe' Country gets back to work after president is ousted
When Hayyan Maqsoud, the director of Syria's postal service, returned to work, the first thing he did was remove the portraits of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and his father, Hafez, from the walls of his Damascus office.
Bowel cancer cases in under-50s on the increase across the world
The number of under-50s being diagnosed with bowel cancer is increasing worldwide, according to landmark research that also reveals rates are rising faster in England than in almost any other country.
Gregg Wallace 'harassed young journalist with creepy texts'
Gregg Wallace is accused of sending inappropriate texts to a young female reporter asking her for \"a snog\" and leaving \"creepy\" voicemails after taking her number under the pretext of work.
Brief respite over after years of Tory jibes
Many civil servants breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the back of the Conservatives in July - a hoped-for end to long-running pay disputes, the looming axe of job cuts and a sense of chaos.
