Rights of Revenue Protection Officers to take a statement on ticket inspection and if they have to read out any legal rights
Request ID: FOI-0427-2122 Date published: 16 June 2021
You asked
This FOI is following up on an incomplete FOI request no. FOI-1499-1920 in which the question of what rights members of the general public may claim when challenged by an alleged Revenue Protection Inspector was not satisfactorily answered. Please provide more information on this, including whether alleged Revenue Protection Inspectors have the right to take statements from members of the public who are being questioned during the course of an inspection, whether any rights need to be read to the member of the public before the statement is taken, if they are able to coerce a statement and push for agreement of any statement, what is the legal status of any statement taken, and if they or any other Inspector are permitted to use threatening language at any point during the inspection.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-0427-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 29th May 2021 asking for information about Revenue Protection Officers.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“This FOI is following up on an incomplete FOI request no. FOI-1499-1920 in which the question of what rights members of the general public may claim when challenged by an alleged Revenue Protection Inspector was not satisfactorily answered. Please provide more information on this, including whether alleged Revenue Protection Inspectors have the right to take statements from members of the public who are being questioned during the course of an inspection, whether any rights need to be read to the member of the public before the statement is taken, if they are able to coerce a statement and push for agreement of any statement, what is the legal status of any statement taken, and if they or any other Inspector are permitted to use threatening language at any point during the inspection.”
Revenue Protection Inspectors are legally permitted to take statements from members of the public who are being questioned during the course of an inspection for any alleged offences on the TfL Network. Any statements taken may be used, once signed, as evidence in a Court of Law. London Underground Revenue Control Inspectors are usually the only Inspectors who issue a caution before interviewing passengers. On other modes (such as buses, London Overground, the DLR, TfL Rail) Inspectors normally just report the facts of the incident and will only ask for a passenger’s details, to see a valid ticket and to point out the offence. In all cases Inspectors must follow the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) that governs how investigations/interviews are conducted. All TfL Inspectors must carry identification and show it when asked. They are professionally trained and should be aware of how to conduct themselves and to comply with PACE. Inspectors should not use threatening language.
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Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
