THE increasing use of CCTV to spot offenders means that fines for parking and motoring offences are being issued on an “industrial scale”.
It is clear that CCTV is being used to raise money in industrial volumes for town halls
The revelation follows a Freedom of Information request made by civil liberty campaign group Big Brother Watch which shows that hundreds of councils are making use of both static CCTV and CCTV equipped cars.
Together these have raised £312 million in revenue from motoring and parking fines between 2009 and 2013.
Following the Big Brother Watch report, Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis said, “It is clear that CCTV is being used to raise money in industrial volumes for town halls, breaking the constitutional principle that fines should not be used as a source of revenue.”
A government consultation on local authority parking issues was held last year, and that included a consideration of whether the use of CCTV for parking enforcement should be banned. Proposals following the consultation are expected soon.
The report also questions the legality of using CCTV, particularly in circumstances where a traffic warden is sitting in a control room looking for motorists to ticket.
ACFO (the Association of Car Fleet Operators) says that the scale of the parking fines problem is proving to be a legal, financial and HR nightmare for businesses.
ACFO Director John Pryor said, “In many areas, parking restrictions can be confusing, while the use of CCTV adds to the complexity as drivers may not immediately know that they have been ‘caught’ with any potential offence only coming to light many days later.”
