London’s mayor praises Berlin’s means-testing for public offenses

…[Boris] Johnson writes somewhat hyperbolically that Berliners “fornicating in their many magnificent parks” is currently the city’s “most serious public order problem.” But even there, Johnson finds reason to love Berlin: The fines for public sex, after all, are means tested, he notes — meaning that those on welfare don’t have to pay as much should they be caught fornicating in the fresh air.

…the fine for public sex is €150 ($198) while the unemployed are faced with a penalty as low as €34 ($45).

See, Anatole France wasn’t right after all.

The full story is here.