Does anyone buy a ticket on the Luas in Tallaght?

thoker

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/man-avoids-2k-luas-fine-after-claiming-his-cousin-used-his-name-because-they-had-a-falling-out-35717134.html

Why would the judge give this gob****e a break:(

XPS_Zero

Couple of things:

First, you can willfully and coldly and clearly commit premeditated murder and just shrug and drop your plea to manslaughter in Ireland, there is no habitual offender statute so you can keep getting convictions even into the 100s and still get suspended sentences whereas in some countries repeat offending gets you 25 to life. I've seen them give out suspended sentences for stabbing someone. We have the opposite problem of the US system, the US is essentially now a police state where you can end up with life in prison for smoking a joint, the cops can legally steal your money and it's up to YOU to prove it's legit money, biggest prison population per head on the planet, but Ireland has the opposite problem, we basically don't have a justice system at all.

Second, he might be telling the truth, if no ID was produced. THis is why I think they should be able, if no ID is verified, to detain you until the Guards arrive, who do have the power to compel an ID. This is why a Transit Police would be a good idea.

Third, fare evasion on the red line is rampant and before the new travel pass cards came in, so was using other peoples DSP FT cards, they'd use their mothers and everything it was crazy.

Sam Russell

Why do the Rev Protection guys photograph the no fare passenger. If he produces ID, take a photo of that. If passenger refuses the photo, call AGS.

They do this kind of thing for parking (but it is only a car they photograph).

XPS_Zero

Sam Russell wrote: »

Why do the Rev Protection guys photograph the no fare passenger. If he produces ID, take a photo of that. If passenger refuses the photo, call AGS.

They do this kind of thing for parking (but it is only a car they photograph).

A very good idea I hadn't thought of that.

You've no reasonable expectation of privacy in public so there is no way they can legally stop it. This would all be easier with a national ID card but we've always been resistant to that idea in this country for fear of a "papers please" culture emerging, and having seen stop-and-frisk up close and personal in the US I can understand why people worry.

There are ways around it, a Transit Police would have the power to compel ID and as can be seen above even tweaking the RP model can give better results.

Losty Dublin

It used to be the case, anecdotally to be fair, that a common defence trick of some habitual petty criminals was to grow facial hair so that they could try and con a Garda into thinking it was somebody else they nabbed. Trouble was, the gards saw these guys on an almost weekly basis so they were well wired to it. Another trick was for somebody else to turn up on the day to answer the case , again to claim a mistaken identity.

Anyway, my point being is that the RPA officers in court may not have been sure that the person in court was the person that they apprehended on the day.

n97 mini

You can photograph anyone you want from a public place. Is the Luas considered public? Maybe disembark offenders and photograph them on the street?

jimmycrackcorm

I've seen that the STT guys now have bodycams fitted (along with mini cctv signs).

No reason then why the revenue protection couldn't have them also. Haven't noticed of the teams themselves have cctv.

Del2005

n97 mini wrote: »

You can photograph anyone you want from a public place. Is the Luas considered public? Maybe disembark offenders and photograph them on the street?

There's CCTV on all the trams and stations so they should have good images. Maybe our speedy judicial system means that they lost the recording before the case.

CaptainSkidmark

I got on at Smithfield last sunday and i dont think anyone bought a ticket or swiped a card. It was full of the GAA crowd and it was mainly runners in the half marathon that jumped on without paying. i doubt many had a wallet or ID with them after running