Lock him up: 112 times and counting, serial fare dodgers like Charles Brohiri belong behind bars

Deliberate and repeated fare evasion is a criminal offence, and Charles’s list of 112 such incidents puts him well into the “serial lawbreaker” bracket.

And these are just the ones we know about. How many times has he actually committed that crime? It’s surely more than 112 - it could be thousands.

Some will say prison is harsh. But it really isn’t - it's kind. Punishing offenders is ultimately kinder than tolerating crime, even for the culprits themselves.

It’s common sense that there have to be consequences for breaking rules. Why should commuters pay thousands of pounds for tickets, sacrificing comforts, leisure and family holidays, while others grab the best of both worlds?

For too long, tolerance of this behaviour has come from the idea that it is a victimless crime or merely a minor nuisance. Neither is true.

It is a form of theft that freeloads on the mugs who follow the rules. Every stolen journey pushes costs onto everyone else, and over time the sums become huge.

TfL estimates that around 3.2% of journeys* are effectively stolen, meaning that if you pay £60 per week in fares, you could be personally covering around £100 each year for people who refuse to pay.

So how did we get here? Because enforcement weakened. When punishments disappear, rules start to disappear too, and following them becomes a choice rather than a requirement.

We have already seen this with the shoplifting epidemic. As soon as shops and police stopped prosecuting consistently, theft increased.

When there is almost no risk of being caught and even less chance of punishment, why would some people pay? It becomes rational to take the risk when there are no visible consequences.

Of course, hardship exists, and it should never be dismissed. But serial fare evasion on this scale is about people deciding the rules do not apply to them.

And while people may have been poorer decades ago, fare dodging and shoplifting were far less normalised. Enforcement mattered then, and it matters now.

Sending someone to prison might help them change course. When people see that there are real consequences, it can act as a deterrent. And even when it doesn’t change the individual, it sends a clear signal to everyone else.

For everyone’s sake - especially those growing up today - we need clear and rapid consequences for persistent bad behaviour. Without them, things can deteriorate quickly.

___________

Andy Preston is a former elected Mayor of Middlesbrough and is a private investor.

LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk