Fare evasion: Justice Minister Hubig needs to decriminalize driving with out a legitimate ticket | EUROtoday

Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) has spoken out in favor of decriminalizing fare evasion. “In my opinion there are good reasons for decriminalization,” Hubig advised the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.

In view of overloaded courts and prisons, she questioned the present apply: “Do people who cannot afford a ticket and end up in prison with a substitute prison sentence really belong there?”

The minister identified that the procedures would tie up lots of assets within the judiciary that might be used extra sensibly elsewhere. As a part of the deliberate modernization of legal legislation, which the black-red coalition has agreed on, the punishability of fare evasion should even be critically examined.

Anyone who travels on buses or trains with out a legitimate ticket is at present committing against the law – and dangers a high quality or a jail sentence of as much as a yr. Anyone who can not pay court-imposed fines dangers a so-called substitute jail sentence.

In addition to Hubig, the German Lawyers’ Association (DAV) can also be pushing for decriminalization. “The social benefit of criminal liability is doubtful, but the damage to the general public is immense,” stated Swen Walentowski from the DAV to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. According to the affiliation, the prices of proceedings and jail sentences quantity to round 200 million euros yearly.