30-05-2025
Don't stop fare dodgers if it's not safe, TfL tells workers after Robert Jenrick confronts brazen evader 'carrying a knife'
TfL employees have been told not to stop fare dodgers if it's not safe to do so, after Conservative MP Robert Jenrick filmed himself challenging evaders and even asking one if he was carrying a knife.
It instead trains station staff to assist customers to ensure they pay the right fare and to encourage everyone to tap in and out.
They are advised to leave any situation they judge to be unsafe to TfL's Transport Support and Enforcement officers, who are trained to physically intervene with passengers who fail to comply with travel bylaws.
It is estimated that half of all incidents involving violence or aggression towards TfL staff occur after a fare is dodged.
It comes after the Shadow Justice Secretary yesterday shared a clip of him confronting fare dodgers on the London Underground, asking if one of them was carrying a knife.
He posted footage of himself approaching three men at Stratford station in an attempt to show the extent of lawbreaking in the capital.
He can be heard asking one of them if they have a knife on them - as he questions why they think it is alright not to pay.
Mr Jenrick, who previously ran for leader of the Conservative Party, said: 'Do you want to go back and pay like everybody else?' He then said: 'But everyone else has to pay.'
Mr Jenrick can be heard asking one of them if they have a knife on them - as he questions why they think it is alright not to pay
One of the alleged fare dodgers, who was wearing a black coat and baseball cap, told him to 'f*** off'.
The shadow cabinet member then replies: 'You can say f*** off as much as you want.'
Towards the end of the clip, Mr Jenrick can be heard asking one of the men: 'You what, you're carrying a knife, did you say?'
Figures show that the number of fare dodgers being prosecuted by TfL is falling, down last year to 18,570 compared to 31,003 in 2018-2019.
As well as fare dodging, the Tory politician also vowed to go after 'weird Turkish barber shops', as well as bike theft, shoplifting and drug use in town centres.
In a piece to camera outside the east London station, he said these things were 'chipping away at society' - as he called on the authorities to go after lawbreakers.
Mr Jenrick, whose role as shadow justice secretary does not include tackling crime, claimed London mayor Sadiq Khan is 'driving a proud city into the ground'.
He captioned the video on X:' Lawbreaking is out of control. He's [Mr Khan] not acting. So, I did.'
Speaking to Times Radio after he posted the clip, Mr Jenrick rejected the suggestion his vigilante fare dodger campaign was irresponsible.
He said: 'We do all have a role in society to call people out. Everyone has to make their own decisions... I do think that we all have a role in society to call people out.
Mr Jenrick, whose justice secretary role does not cover crime, claimed London mayor Sadiq Khan is 'driving a proud city into the ground'
'If you see somebody chucking litter on the floor, it's not somebody else's problem. Frankly, it's not just the police who should step up.'
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also welcomed Mr Jenrick's actions.
She said: 'Rob is right. Sadiq Khan's been asleep at the wheel for 10 years and London is paying the price. Families don't feel safe. Investors are leaving.
'It's time to take back control of our city.'
It comes as shocking footage showed the moment a fare dodger was told he owed more than £3,500 in unpaid ticket costs on Transport for London.
The man had been using a bank card with no money on it for over a year - when he was caught by TfL investigators at Surrey Quays station in London's docklands.
While the card had been accepted by the ticket reader each time, it had later resulted in a payment failure.
This meant he was able to force the exit gates to open at a station without having to pay the TfL travel charge, racking up thousands of unpaid fees.
The unsuspecting man was snared on his way to work, with investigators able to trace his usual journey and identify him on CCTV.
After being taken in for an interview, the man claims he 'found' the card, before changing his mind and saying it was given to him by a friend.
But this does little to convince the officers, as they reveal he owes TfL an eye-watering £3,573 from more than 500 journeys taken in over a year.
The elaborate sting was captured in the latest episode of Channel 5 documentary 'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law'.
TfL investigator Lisa and her colleague spotted the man just as he was exiting the barriers at Surrey Quays train station.
She asks the man to show her the card he used to tap out before asking where he got it. The man replies: 'No it's not mine, I found it.'
'Oh that's a whole different ball game now,' Lisa adds.
She then checks the card on her own scanner, which confirms her suspicions that the card is faulty.
'You see there it's failed? So me and you need to have a conversation. So I am going to ask you in for an interview.'
The fare dodger then asks: 'Is it going to take a long time? I'm working,' to which Lisa replies: 'It's going to take as long as it takes.'
As she begins interviewing the man, Lisa tells him an investigation into the card shows that he had been using it illegally.
'At this point because of this card I do believe you have committed an offence, so at this point I am going to caution.'
