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| Crackdown on the disabled badge
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‘We’re coming to get
you’ warning to parking cheats
MOTORISTS who illegally use a disabled permit when they
park their cars are being targeted in a new crack down in Islington
on parking fraud.
The action by NCP (National Car Parks) and Islington Council includes
a new civilian investigation team, which has been established to
fight the spiralling numbers of fake parking permits now in circulation.
Since February 2004, more than 600 fraudulent, stolen or misused
Blue Badges have been confiscated from vehicles in the borough.
Seven people have been taken to court by the fraud team and all
successfully prosecuted, receiving fines ranging from £300
to £2,540.
Five other cases are currently awaiting a court hearing and new
cases are being investigated every day. To combat the problem the
new parking service team is investigating reports of fraudulent
use and looks out for fake permits and badges on the street. The
team works closely with other local authorities, sharing information
and targeting offenders.
In partnership with NCP, the council has also trained its parking
attendants to spot fake permits and disabled badges. It is working
closely with the Metropolitan Police on joint exercises, in specific
locations, targeting vehicles displaying fraudulent disabled badges.
Cllr George Allan, executive member for customer focus said: “Whether
these individuals are parking in spaces set aside for residents
or depriving disabled people of parking spaces specifically allotted
to them, we aim to catch them out.
“And when we do, we will take whatever action necessary to
hit them where it really hurts – in their pockets”.
Additionally, Islington Council has introduced a ‘substitute’
badge in the form of a residents’ parking permit to further
reduce incidents of theft. This allows the user to park their car
in a residents’ bay in the zone in which they live.
It shows their vehicle registration number making it unattractive
to thieves in the same way as a blue badge which bears no registration
number and can be used in any vehicle. So far the council has issued
846 of these badges. Cllr Allan added: “A key element of parking
control is ensuring residents, particularly the disabled, get priority
over other motorists when it comes to parking their car in Islington.”
“There will always be a few that try and cheat the system,
but we have a clear message to them: we are on your case.”
There are two main ways of committing parking fraud. The first involves
using a counterfeit permit allowing a motorist to park in a specific
Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) free of charge. The second involves
using a fraudulent or stolen Blue Badge – used to identify
disabled drivers – which means the offender is able to park
on some yellow lines across the borough. |
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