London bus fare dodge - Potential criminal record

bantun

I would like to discuss. What position would one be in if one was caught by the London bus ticket inspectors without swiping in (paying) if they are an Irish citizen

What if one was caught before and given a penalty fare which they paid on time (25 pound)

What if the inspector told accused person they will write out telling them what they did, and the accused person should then reply to this arguing their case. They will then decide whether or not to prosecute.

Please note a couple of details:

If

1) Inspector did not, read any rights ..."anything you do say, may be used in evidence etc." (PACE act)
2) He did not get accused to sign anything.
3) A contradiction in Revenue and Policy Guidelines that can cause someone to get off

I have heard these arguments working for someone who was a trainee solicitor. He didn't get a conviction but settled out of court for a 100 pounds


Just wondering also, how long would the criminal conviction last. I heard ranges from 6 months to 6 years and would it stop a person from entering the USA

Victor

You need to do further investigation as several of the above points seem to be incorrect or at least mis-stated. You would be well advised to talk to a solicitor who know the ins and outs of transport law, not overhearing "someone who was a trainee solicitor" or people on the internet.

Citizenship is largely irrelevant.

Repeat offenders tend to not be believed much, unless they are totally honest and repentant. They are also punished more harshly.

Writing the letter sounds like the inspector is trying to be fair to you and deal with things administratively and not via court, but talk to a solicitor first as you may be implicating yourself.

I doubt a ticket inspector needs to read you your rights and a lack of signature is irrelevant - they have all your details already previous ticket, CCTV, Oysterpass details ...

I have no idea what you mean by "contradiction in Revenue and Policy Guidelines". If you are saying that they can do X, but tend to only do half of X, you are still stuck.

Convictions tend to last for ever, but sentences for many minor crimes don't have to be declared for work in the UK (Rehabilitation of Offenders Act), but the police and Americans may take a different view.

From the December 2009 edition of Today's Railway's Magazine.

Print your own man convicted

After a ticket inspector on a Bedford Brighton train noticed a slight variation in the colour of his ticket, IT expert Jonathan Moore (27) of Hove found himself at Brighton Crown Court pleading guilty to fraud charges arising out of forging 74 tickets and possessing 11 of the forgeries. He had been saving himself a considerable amount of money by producing his own Brighton London season tickets since 2006, but there was no evidence that he had sold any of the tickets to anyone else.

Moore was given a 9 month suspended prison sentence and a 240 hour unpaid work order (community service) on 2 October, besides having to pay £510 costs and repay the total £12 472 cost of the forged tickets.

bantun

Thanks a lot for your reply.

A contradiction in Revenue and Policy Guidelines is basically two clauses that this lecturer used when defending himself when he didn't swipe in...he even linked a letter written to am mp by a transport executive calling for the clauses to be reviewed.

As far as I've heard, the inspectors must comply with the PACE act, or the evidence is inadmissible in court

tbh I will be totally honest and repentant in my response, and will gladly take a fine.

This trainee solicitor guy basically said to ring up, be apologetic and ask to settle out of court and pay around 100 quid, he wasn't trying to get off paying, just being convicted as it would ruin his career

Hopefully it will work out