More than half of fines imposed by prosecutors in Scotland last year have not been paid in full, figures revealed today.
And more than 57,000 warning letters have been sent out as a result, the figures showed.
Tory MSP Margaret Mitchell branded the figures an "absolute disgrace" and said they showed a criminal justice system in "meltdown".
The statistics given to the MSP by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill show penalties worth £3.7 million were imposed by prosecutors last year as an alternative to court action.
Of this total, £1.3 million had been collected, a further £1.2 million was being paid by agreed instalments, and the remaining £1.2 million was in arrears.
No payments at all had been made in the case of 14,741 fines, or 41% of the total, while further 4,769, or 13%, were in arrears.
This had led to more than 57,000 warning letters being issued.
More than 3,000 enforcement orders were applied, but in only 754 cases were the fines deducted from benefits and there were only 40 earnings arrestments.
Ms Mitchell said: "These figures are an absolute disgrace.
"It is surely bad enough that 54% - or 19,510 - of fiscal fines remain either unpaid or only partly paid, but the real revelation is the shambolic administration of these fines."
Describing the number of warning letters as "astonishing," she said: "How much have these letters cost in time and resources?
"In addition to the letters, there have been 4,485 fines courts citations and over 14,000 enforcement orders applied. It is a bureaucratic nightmare."
A Scottish Government spokesman said a new enforcement regime for fines was introduced last year.
"The regime, approved unanimously by the previous Parliament, includes new fines enforcement officers whose work has freed up more police to keep our streets safe and enabled the courts to focus proceedings on serious criminal cases," he said.
"Following their recent information campaign, the Scottish Court Service is rightly taking several steps to target those who have ignored warnings over the first year and we hope to see further progress over the next year."
In a separate criticism of the Scottish Government on law and order policy, Tories said an opinion poll showed 95% public support for scrapping the automatic early release of prisoners.
Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said a poll carried out by YouGov for the party showed 62% were completely opposed to automatic early release and 33% said prisoners should only be released early for good behaviour.
"We are sinking deeper into the mire of soft-touch Scotland under the SNP," said Mr Aitken.
"They have still not scrapped early release and instead, they are sending muggers and robbers back on to the streets even earlier to strike again."
A spokesman for Mr MacAskill said: "The reality is that crime in Scotland is at a 25-year low and Scotland's communities are safer because of the decisions taken by the SNP Government which have seen an all-time record number of police officers on our streets - a number that is still rising.
"The reality is also that we are building new prisons - something the Tories failed to do when they were in office - and are committed to ending the automatic early release scheme which the Conservatives introduced."
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