Germany’s justice minister has questioned whether fare evasion should remain a criminal offense.
Stefanie Hubig said there are strong arguments for decriminalization, citing the strain such cases place on the justice system.
The center-left Social Democrat (SPD) politician told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper that people who cannot afford tickets and end up jailed through substitute custodial sentences may not belong in prison. She said a modern criminal law requires reassessing whether fare evasion should be punishable.
Speaking to the Düsseldorf-based Rheinische Post newspaper, the Federal Police head for the German Police Union (GdP) Andreas Rosskopf disagreed.
“Obtaining services by deception must remain a criminal offense,” he said.
Otherwise, he added, traveling without a ticket would become a minor offense and highly commonplace. “We run the risk that many people simply won’t care whether they have a ticket or not,” Rosskopf said.
The German Bar Association has supported reform, calling current rules socially counterproductive. Its spokesperson Swen Walentowski said prosecutions and prison terms for fare evasion cost taxpayers about €200 million ($231 million) annually, disproportionately affecting those unable to afford tickets.
In most German cities, you do not need to swipe or scan a ticket to enter a train, tram, or bus. Compliance is enforced by sporadic checks from conductors. Despite this lax approach, the government estimates that only between 3-4% of trips are being undertaken by fare dodgers.
