The council of Gloucestershire in Great Britain, the mother country of surveillance, has introduced yet another way to remotely control it's citizens via camera. Fitted with automatic number plate recognition technology the parking enforcement car will patrol key areas in South Gloucestershire.
It will be used mainly in areas that are of high importance because of safety issues or because illegal parking there disrupts the traffic flow. Specifically, the car will be used to enforce in the following areas:
- school ‘keep clear’ zigzag markings
- bus stops
- clearways
- taxi ranks
- pedestrian crossings marked by zigzags
- 24 hour clear ways
Of course the decision to use a parking enforcement car follows a pilot, consultation and a formal decision made by the Communities Committee.
The enforcement car has the additional advantage of no parking wardens being required to hand out a fine to the driver or attach it to the car. Instead the enforcement car will take a picture as evidence and the infringer will receive a notice via post. Before being sent the fine will be checked manually by a parking enforcement officer.
All revenues generated from parking enforcement activities, also the ones from the car, are spent to sustain the parking enforcement service. According to national policy any additional funds that are generated are by these services have to be used for transportation initiatives.
