Fare evasion and false details on South Eastern train- can criminal record be avoided?
Hi
I was with my friend today on way backbone home. He did not have the ticket for the train and passed through the barriers behind another passenger. I be on a parallel barrier.
A Ticket Inspector (had name badge beside "Revenue Protection Officer") stopped him and asked for details for penalty fare. He willing to pay the cost fare but not associate the fine with his name, panicked and give false details. The officer found out and cancelled the penalty charge ticket.
Instead, he took the right details and cautioned him. He went through a series of question to which my friend answered truthfully. He admitted going through the barriers and giving false details. The officer told that in 4-6weeks, he would be delivery either a letter to pay the fine or a court summon.
He is a university student doing canon and can not afford a criminal record for future jobs. He have been crying all evening for the stupid thing he did.
I desire advise in order for him to avoid a criminal copy. The of
Many people caught in this way are prosecuted contained by the local magistrates' court. It is a private prosecution conducted by the railway authority and not the CPS, so it would not feature on the criminal record of a person unless at hand were some other element involved, e.g. forgery. These are going to be a long 4-6 weeks for your friend. Perhaps, if he has the address of the prosecuting authority he could bear the initiative and send an apologetic letter with a cheque surrounded by the amount of the penalty notice. One way of another, he'd hold to pay this anyway. It might then occur to them that it isn't really worth while to prosecute him. Just an view.
