CCTV monitoring of parking offences criticised

Story link: CCTV monitoring of parking offences criticised by Jan Harris

New regulations will be introduced on 1 April, allowing district councils to use CCTV cameras to issue parking tickets, but some Councils won’t be rushing to make use of their new powers.

Under the optional new powers provided by changes to the Traffic Management Act, wardens will be able to issue a ticket remotely, instead of leaving it on a car’s windscreen. The driver will not be aware that a ticket has been issued until a Penalty Charge Notice arrives through their letterbox.

Remote CCTV operators will be able to monitor streets and issue fines for offences such as parking on a yellow line or overstaying at a meter.

Councils will also have the power to set up a sliding scale of fines of up to £120 for different types of parking offence.

However Northamptonshire Council has promised that it will not be using CCTV cameras to monitor parking offences in the district.

According to Councillor Bob Seery, the Council’s cabinet member for highways and transportation, the Council has discussed the changes to the 2004 Act at countywide partnership level, and while it will comply with the new Government regulations, it will not use the optional power to use CCTV cameras to issue parking tickets.

The new regulations have been criticised by motoring groups, who believe they could lead to questionable tickets being issued to drivers who were unaware they had committed an offence. The AA has called for the tickets to be issued in real time.

There is concern that Councils could issue more fines as a way of raising revenue, although the Government has said that this must not happened and has banned Council’s from setting targets for the number of tickets issued.