Unpaid fines? Here’s who can save you from prison

Context

TL;DR

• The Freiheitsfonds has raised nearly 100'000 francs.
• 47 people have avoided a total of 451 days in prison.
• In 2024, there were 3'935 admissions for substitute sentences.
• Substitute detention can last up to 90 days.

Key facts

• Fund → Freiheitsfonds
• Funds raised → almost 100'000 francs
• Beneficiaries → 47 people
• Detention avoided → 451 days
• Conversion → up to 90 days of detention
• 2024 figure → 3'935 prison admissions
• Zurich study → 69% for traffic or public transport violations
• Estimated cost → 200-300 francs per day

Data from the Federal Statistical Office indicate that in 2024, prison admissions in Switzerland for the enforcement of substitute sentences totaled 3'935, more than four times the number recorded in 2000. This figure highlights the problem addressed by Freiheitsfonds, the Swiss fund that pays the penalties of people who cannot afford them.

Donations enabled the fund to raise almost 100'000 francs, which has already paid the penalties of 47 people. In total, the intervention avoided 451 days of detention, according to the NZZ.

How substitute sentences work

Failure to pay a fine or monetary penalty may lead to its conversion into a substitute custodial sentence lasting up to 90 days. This is a controversial mechanism, since it risks disproportionately affecting people facing financial difficulties and contributes to filling prisons.

According to a study conducted in Zurich in 2019, 69% of those interviewed had received a penalty for violations related to traffic or public transport.

In Parliament, the National Council rejected the proposal by Jessica Jaccoud, a Vaud Socialist National Councillor, which aimed to replace detention for unpaid fines of up to 5'000 francs with other measures.

The fund believes that intervening before imprisonment is also economically worthwhile: according to the estimates cited, a day in detention costs 200-300 francs. The issue nevertheless continues to raise doubts. There are fears that intervention by a private party could weaken the enforcement of penalties and the deterrent effect of fines; moreover, people who travel without a ticket may not do so exclusively for financial reasons.

Among the alternatives already provided for is community service, the organization of which can nevertheless prove complex. Zurich has a dedicated service; Bern, by contrast, wants to extend the use of this measure to cases in which the sentence has already been converted into detention. Finally, some municipalities suggest not filing criminal complaints against people who travel without a valid ticket, focusing instead on the surcharge and debt recovery.

Operational details

Three paths with different effects

For people living in Switzerland, the issue is not limited to the amount of the penalty. The source compares three paths: conversion into substitute detention, community service and, in some cases of travelling without a valid ticket, a surcharge and debt recovery instead of a criminal complaint.

The practical comparison

The first path is the one that turns non-payment into possible detention. The second keeps the response in the realm of community service, but applying it requires an organizational setup that the source describes as not always easy. The third concerns a narrower scope: travel without a valid ticket and proposals from some municipalities.

The difference between the three paths has an immediate practical effect. According to its objective, the Freiheitsfonds intervenes before incarceration; community service is indicated as an alternative; the municipal transport model instead focuses on the surcharge and debt recovery. They are different responses to the same problem of non-payment, but they are not interchangeable.

Where Zurich and Bern fit in

Zurich has a service dedicated to community service. In Bern, the aim is to extend the use of this measure to sentences already converted into detention. The source therefore presents an existing service and an announced extension, not a single procedure described for all territories.

From an economic perspective, the fund argues that intervention before detention makes sense because one day in prison is estimated to cost between 200 and 300 francs. As for the concerns, there remains a fear that a private entity could weaken enforcement of sanctions and reduce the deterrent effect of fines. The same source points out that financial difficulties do not necessarily explain every journey without a ticket.

The practical picture therefore requires distinguishing between the type of sanction, the point at which conversion takes place, and the alternative provided for in the territory in question. A municipal transport proposal is not equivalent to private payment of a sanction, while community service is not the same as substitute detention.

Key points

Navigating without adding unmentioned rules

The source does not describe a single form, deadline or office for requesting assistance from the Freiheitsfonds. The practical steps that can therefore be reconstructed are linked to the type of sanction and the stage the case has reached.

Four steps

1. Distinguish the sanction. The text considers both the fine and the monetary penalty. When they are not paid, they can be converted into a substitute custodial sentence, up to 90 days.

2. Place the case before imprisonment. The fund’s stated objective is to pay the sanctions of people at risk of prison because they cannot afford them. The source documents assistance for 47 people, but does not describe a general access procedure: it is therefore not possible to derive a form or deadline from the text.

3. Consider community service: the system already provides for it, but its organization is not always simple. The example cited is Zurich, which has a dedicated service; Bern aims to extend this option to sentences already converted into detention.

4. Separate public transport cases. For people travelling without a valid ticket, some municipalities propose waiving the criminal complaint and focusing on the surcharge and debt recovery. The proposal is linked to that type of offence and should not automatically be extended to every fine.

The limits of the available information

The text does not indicate a uniform procedure throughout Switzerland, nor does it establish that the fund pays every unpaid sanction. Instead, it reports an objective, some results and alternatives located in Zurich, Bern or unspecified municipalities. For the reader, the decisive distinction is therefore between an unpaid sanction, possible conversion, community service and the municipal model applied to travelling without a valid ticket.

For more information on the everyday use of mezzi pubblici.

Source: tio.ch