Traffic Wardens - Just as we suspected
Discussion
bbc said:
Parking enforcement officers face "humiliation" if they fail to meet their targets for issuing parking fines, their unions have claimed.
The unions Unite and Unison say wardens often have to meet targets to qualify for overtime and other perks.
Parking attendants have told the BBC this means some tickets are issued when there is no real justification.
The British Parking Association said ticket-targeting was "unacceptable" and it was trying to stop the practice.
An estimated 10 million parking tickets are issued in the UK every year.
The BBC has been told of the pressures that traffic wardens are under.
Too scared of losing their jobs to speak openly, two different parking attendants spoke anonymously to BBC Breakfast.
One said that every day he was forced to issue tickets that his management knew would be overturned.
"They don't care if they will be appealed, they just want the numbers," he said.
"The bosses tell you to issue tickets even when they know there is a fault in signage.
"Drivers are unjustly battered with tickets and if we don't do it we lose our jobs."
The other attendant told the BBC: "If you hit or exceed the targets you get favours, swapping shifts, and most importantly, if you hit the targets you get overtime.
"People get fired for not reaching their targets."
Unions have backed up up these claims. They have concerns about practices across the UK and particularly where parking enforcement has been contracted out to private companies.
They say staff are often very poorly paid and have to work in a pressured, target-driven environment where they are often bullied and humiliated if they under perform.
Peter Allenson, Unite's National Officer, said: "There are targets that they need to meet and if they don't meet these targets then there are certain things being used against them such as shift swaps and overtime allocation and this is unacceptable."
Parliament's Transport Select Committee has warned councils against using parking tickets to raise revenue.
But Paul Waters of the AA said some local authorities seemed to be doing just that:
"Some councils are blindly issuing tickets, it appears perhaps to get the revenue rather than changing behaviour.
"It is a revenue gainer for many authorities, attendants are exploiting the situation - they know where the honey pots are, and they go along and issue tickets regardless of the fact that the signing is dubious."
But the British Parking Association (BPA) which represents companies who employ parking attendants said it was against ticket-targeting and was making efforts to combat the practice.
A spokesman said: "The BPA considers ticket target-setting totally unacceptable, and as a member organisation we strive to make sure that parking control is about improving the streets, and not making money."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8168191.stm
The unions Unite and Unison say wardens often have to meet targets to qualify for overtime and other perks.
Parking attendants have told the BBC this means some tickets are issued when there is no real justification.
The British Parking Association said ticket-targeting was "unacceptable" and it was trying to stop the practice.
An estimated 10 million parking tickets are issued in the UK every year.
The BBC has been told of the pressures that traffic wardens are under.
Too scared of losing their jobs to speak openly, two different parking attendants spoke anonymously to BBC Breakfast.
One said that every day he was forced to issue tickets that his management knew would be overturned.
"They don't care if they will be appealed, they just want the numbers," he said.
"The bosses tell you to issue tickets even when they know there is a fault in signage.
"Drivers are unjustly battered with tickets and if we don't do it we lose our jobs."
The other attendant told the BBC: "If you hit or exceed the targets you get favours, swapping shifts, and most importantly, if you hit the targets you get overtime.
"People get fired for not reaching their targets."
Unions have backed up up these claims. They have concerns about practices across the UK and particularly where parking enforcement has been contracted out to private companies.
They say staff are often very poorly paid and have to work in a pressured, target-driven environment where they are often bullied and humiliated if they under perform.
Peter Allenson, Unite's National Officer, said: "There are targets that they need to meet and if they don't meet these targets then there are certain things being used against them such as shift swaps and overtime allocation and this is unacceptable."
Parliament's Transport Select Committee has warned councils against using parking tickets to raise revenue.
But Paul Waters of the AA said some local authorities seemed to be doing just that:
"Some councils are blindly issuing tickets, it appears perhaps to get the revenue rather than changing behaviour.
"It is a revenue gainer for many authorities, attendants are exploiting the situation - they know where the honey pots are, and they go along and issue tickets regardless of the fact that the signing is dubious."
But the British Parking Association (BPA) which represents companies who employ parking attendants said it was against ticket-targeting and was making efforts to combat the practice.
A spokesman said: "The BPA considers ticket target-setting totally unacceptable, and as a member organisation we strive to make sure that parking control is about improving the streets, and not making money."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8168191.stm
Edited by Pints on Saturday 25th July 09:26
ALawson said:
Eric, do you know that Fleet was on the news this morning as it is a "hot spot" even though the road markings and signage are non-compliant and have been challenged!
I used to live in Fleet......Up here in North Yorkshire there were some non compliant yellow lines and signeage in Bedale. A local journalist got a ticket and challenged it in court. The result was chaos as all of the yellow lines and bay parking rules in Bedale and two other local towns were deemed to be unenforcable and it took the council several years to correct it!
Don't paste them all the same. I saw a programme this year which compared London wardens to Manchester ones.
The rules they apply to depend on which council they work for. MCC decided they wanted to sort out the horrible day to day situation of main roads becoming car parks, so they pay their wardens a set fee, and instruct the wardens to 'help' drivers. examples being leniency, extra time given, advice on where a spot may be found. In comparison the London wardens were paid on commission, by how many tickets they could dish out. So they were not used as a traffic easing measure but more of a revenue generating department.
The rules they apply to depend on which council they work for. MCC decided they wanted to sort out the horrible day to day situation of main roads becoming car parks, so they pay their wardens a set fee, and instruct the wardens to 'help' drivers. examples being leniency, extra time given, advice on where a spot may be found. In comparison the London wardens were paid on commission, by how many tickets they could dish out. So they were not used as a traffic easing measure but more of a revenue generating department.
Eric Mc said:
Many of the wardens are afraid to speak out because they are actually illegal immigrants - particularly in the London area. This was exposed a couple of years ago in a consumer affairs programme on the BBC.
What do you expect from an institutionally corrupt administration?, but to allow the wholesale importation of people from even more corrupt countries without a thought of the long term consequences. This country is slowly being poisoned by a spiteful and vengeful liberal elite.I actually find this really disturbing. I think we're all well aware that most doormen aren't particularly the most upstanding of citizens and most security firms are fronts for organised crime. I don't care how much vetting and training these people get, the abuse that could arise from giving these people access to the PNC is mind boggling.
Guam said:
thehawk said:
Well we all know what to do come the next election dont we, the tories need to come out NOW and state publicly the garbage they are going to repeal.Enough being coy Tory boys (and Girls) time to get out there and tell people what you will bin (and this needs to be up there) and what you will keep, WE NEED TO KNOW!
Dear MP,
I know you are a busy man, so I will cut to the chase.
If, as, and when you Conservatives get your hands on the levers of power; tell me that you are going to conduct a wholesale audit of each and every law that this present corrupt government have introduced since that **** Blair came to power. Actually go further and confirm it as a stated aim within your parties forthcoming manifesto, and I will vote for you because I don’t want to live in a police state that is administered by forces that are motivated by profit alone. I am sincerely worried where my country is sliding towards.
I could go on, and on, and on… so instead, here is an example of the kind of thing I am talking about:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/art...
regards
PS
Well this is the reply I got back from my MP. (actually it was written by one of his 'researchers'
Dear Police State,
"Thank you very much for taking the time to contact me on the issues of road charging and private security companies who have been given the power to issue on the spot fines. I read your comments on these matters with interest, and appreciate you bringing your concerns to my attention.
On a general point, I am very aware that since 1997 the Government has consistently chipped away at Britain’s civil liberties. Whilst with one hand promoting civil rights with the Human Rights Act, it has introduced measures that curtail our fundamental freedoms. Attempts at 42-day pre-trial detention, defeated by the House of Lords; ID cards; and parts of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, used by local authorities to spy on residents, are but a few examples.
I understand your concerns on the widening use of on the spot fines. The current Government has introduced more criminal justice laws since 1997, some forty-five pieces of new legislation, than were passed in the preceding century. As you mention, this has included the expanded use of on-the-spot fines which I understand many feel is a diluted form of justice. This allows issuing authorities to investigate, prosecute, try and punish criminal offences without ‘judicial check’ or consideration.
Secondly, I appreciate the impact a national road charging scheme will have on families and businesses in an already difficult economic environment, and I understand your worries on this matter. However, this Government has led the country into an unprecedented and unsustainable level of public debt. The Treasury’s figures show the Government borrowing £175 billion, worth 12.4 per cent of GDP, in 2009-10 and the national debt doubling to £1.4 trillion over the next four years. This, unfortunately, means that we are unable to rule out any future method of balancing the public finances. Solving this debt crisis will not be possible without making some very difficult decisions.
There are, however, a number of measures that my colleagues are considering to lighten the load on road travellers, and two examples are outlined.
An incoming Conservative Government would introduce a system of charging foreign hauliers for their use of Britain’s roads. We are looking at ways of charging foreign hauliers for their use of Britain’s roads, and my colleague Robert Goodwill MP, the Shadow Roads Minister has just returned from the Czech Republic where he saw their scheme in operation. The Government has dithered over a scheme for over 8 years and we believe that foreign hauliers should pay a fair share of UK tax to cover to the cost of wear and tear on our road network.
We would also seek to tackle some of the nation’s worst road bottlenecks to try to deal with the congestion that has become so much worse under this Government, whose road improvement programme is a shambles.
I would like to add that my Party will continue to be on the side of hard pressed motorists. We have opposed the Government’s retrospective increases in road tax and opposed a national spy-in-the-sky road pricing scheme. I will also continue to bear in mind your thoughts on both of these issues in future.
Once again, many thanks for getting in touch. Please feel free to contact me again if you have any further concerns on these or any other issues."
Yours sincerely,
Member of Parliament
Edited by Police State on Sunday 9th August 21:45
This really doesn't suprise me one bit.
A few weeks back I was stood outside my shop and started talking to a warden that patrols the road. He told me it had been a slow day as he had only written 3 tickets. This was 10am in a small Notts market town!
He then proceeded to start writing a ticket for a car parked in the disabled bay. Seeing as the car had a disabled ticket I asked why. He explained it was upside down so he HAD TO write a ticket. Apparently it would be appealed and the driver would be let off.
Absolutely ridiculous state of affairs.
A few weeks back I was stood outside my shop and started talking to a warden that patrols the road. He told me it had been a slow day as he had only written 3 tickets. This was 10am in a small Notts market town!
He then proceeded to start writing a ticket for a car parked in the disabled bay. Seeing as the car had a disabled ticket I asked why. He explained it was upside down so he HAD TO write a ticket. Apparently it would be appealed and the driver would be let off.
Absolutely ridiculous state of affairs.
Police State said:
This country is slowly being poisoned by a spiteful and vengeful liberal elite.
Oi!There is nothing liberal about this fascist cleptocracy.
It's the illiberal control freaks - from New Labour and the Religious Right to the Taliban and all points between - who are poisoning civilisation, not proper freedom loving liberals.
(LibDem != liberal)
Why are they even given targets? If the parking restrictions are working then the system works and people wouldn't be given tickets.
It seems that the "management" think they are in a big high pressure sales environment where targets mean everything. I bet they have blue sky thinking meetings where they incentivise their workforce with challenges to ensure targets are hit, providing a loop back to management bonus achievement. Or some such b
ks. They are playing at business, pretending to be important. How sad.
It seems that the "management" think they are in a big high pressure sales environment where targets mean everything. I bet they have blue sky thinking meetings where they incentivise their workforce with challenges to ensure targets are hit, providing a loop back to management bonus achievement. Or some such b
ks. They are playing at business, pretending to be important. How sad.fluffnik said:
Police State said:
This country is slowly being poisoned by a spiteful and vengeful liberal elite.
Oi!There is nothing liberal about this fascist cleptocracy.
It's the illiberal control freaks - from New Labour and the Religious Right to the Taliban and all points between - who are poisoning civilisation, not proper freedom loving liberals.
(LibDem != liberal)
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