No more imprisonment instead of a fine
Traffic light wants to decriminalize fare evasion
02/13/2022 09:56 am
The traffic light wants to relieve the judiciary and the penal system. The system should no longer be bothered with substitute detention for unpaid fines. Minister Buschmann also wants to decriminalize fare evasion. The coalition also wants to make it easier for poorer people to have a public defender in the future.
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann wants fewer people to be imprisoned for unpaid fines. “Above all, those who are also sentenced to imprisonment should be in prison,” the FDP politician told the Berlin “Tagesspiegel am Sonntag”. According to the newspaper, ten percent of the prisoners are serving a so-called alternative prison sentence because they did not pay a fine imposed by the court – often people with low incomes. The enforcement of alternative prison sentences should be avoided in practice, said Buschmann.
“But the federal states have already taken action and there is a lively exchange,” said Buschmann. “According to the coalition agreement, we also want to check whether we can also contribute something under federal law in order to achieve fewer enforcements.” The SPD, Greens and FDP agreed in the contract: “We are revising the system of sanctions, including alternative prison sentences, incarceration and probation conditions, with the aim of prevention and rehabilitation.”
“Historically Obsolete Crimes”
The Minister of Justice is also examining a decriminalization of fare evasion. The traffic light parties had agreed to review criminal law and to “focus on historically outdated criminal offenses, the modernization of criminal law and the rapid relief of the judiciary”. Buschmann explained that the fact of “cheating benefits” is not the only one that will be on the “long list” in the examination.
According to Buschmann, another approach to reform is to make a public defender available to poor people earlier. An application must be submitted for this. “As a result, this right is often not used, or only later,” said Buschmann. It is very important to be competently represented as early as the preliminary investigation phase. In the future, the public defender should then be granted without an application from the first hearing.