Public transport security push
New search powers proposed for security guards and police following August Thalys attack, plus tougher fraud laws
POLICE stop and search powers could be increased by a new law, to be passed in the wake of the August gun attack on a high-speed train.
Security staff for the SNCF and RATP will be allowed to carry out bag searches and pat downs.
Passengers who refuse to comply could be banned from boarding public transport.
Police and gendarmes, who can currently not search bags unless a crime has been committed, will lose this restriction.
Their search powers will also be simplified, they currently need the permissions of procureurs, public prosecutors, in all regions that a train travels through before they can be carried out.
The new law will be examined by a parliamentary commission in November ahead of a vote and is set to come into force in the spring.
It was drawn up in the wake of a gun attack on a Thalys train from Paris to Amsterdam where a man was disarmed by passengers after opening fire.
As well as the security measures, the bill also contains new provisions to tackle fraud.
Government departments will be allowed to reveal the addresses of those arrested without tickets and the crime of ‘habitual fraud’ will have the current threshold of being caught without a ticket 10 times in a year reduced to five times.
The penalty for ‘habitual fraud’ is up to six months in prison and a €7,500 fine.
The government claims transport fraud costs the country nearly half a billions euros each year.
Photo:Flickr/Clem
