Parking enforcement officer
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A parking enforcement officer or parking attendant is a member of a traffic control department or agency who issues tickets for parking violations. Where parking meters are used, they may be known as a meter attendant (United States Department of Labor Dictionary of Occupational Titles, classification number 375.587-010), or, derogatorily, a meter Nazi or meter maid for both female and male attendants. In Canada, parking enforcement duties are frequently handled under the umbrella of bylaw enforcement by Bylaw Enforcement Officers.
They are employed by local authorities in the UK with Decriminalised Parking Enforcement powers under the Road Traffic Act 1991 and have the power to issue a Penalty Charge Notice to any vehicle which is in a position that it shouldn't be. In Northern Ireland they enforce using powers under the Traffic Management (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 and are known as Traffic Attendants. UK parking attendants normally patrol on foot, however some also use cars or mopeds, particularly in larger areas.
Their use is controversial, and they are often perceived as being over zealous, leaving themselves open to accusations that their real purpose is to raise revenue for the local authority rather than keep the traffic moving. Critics[who?] will point to the number of tickets issued for over staying their time in a designated parking area, even when there are plenty of other spaces available, and argue that the "punishment does not fit the crime", pointing to the size of fines levied for minor parking violations in the United Kingdom, which range from £60 upwards, and compare these with fines generally issued in the Magistrates Court for more serious motoring offences and other offences which involve dishonesty such as shoplifting.
In pop culture, the term is best known for The Beatles' song "Lovely Rita," in which the male singer, smitten with Rita, recalls:
- Standing by a parking meter, when I caught a glimpse of Rita
- Filling in a ticket in her little white book.
- In a cap she looked much older,
- And the bag across her shoulder
- Made her look a little like a military man.
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[edit] In Canada
In Canada, no jurisdictions remain where persons employed for the purpose of enforcing traffic bylaws are referred to as "Meter Maids" and increasingly fewer offices of "Parking Enforcement Officer" exist. Most officials once employed as PEOs are now utilized to perform a variety of bylaw enforcement duties, often including Animal Control or the enforcement of other bylaws. The position is increasingly reclassed to that of the more professional position of Bylaw Enforcement Officer.
In some areas in Canada, the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires provides parking enforcement services [1].
[edit] In Australia
The Surfers Paradise Meter Maids were introduced to the world in 1965 with a positive spin on parking regulations. Instead of issuing tickets for expired parking, the Meter Maids dispensed coins into the meter and left a calling card under the windscreen wiper of the vehicle.
Initially introduced as a countermeasure against the unpopularity of parking meters installed the previous year, the Maids are known for their gold bikini outfits and (now defunct) tiaras.
Ticket-issuing parking inspectors continue to patrol streets to enforce parking regulations, and the Gold Coast City Council is installing voucher-dispensing parking machines in place of traditional parking meters, leaving 'meter maids' unable to top up the meter to protect vehicles from being fined by increasingly vigilant parking inspectors.
[edit] Traffic wardens
In the UK, traffic wardens are employed by police forces. Parking attendants are employed by local authorities (local councils). Parking attendants have fewer powers than traffic wardens. P.A's can only book on lines and signs whereas wardens can also book vehicles for causing an obstruction. New laws introduced in September 2006 mean both traffic wardens and parking attendants are now able to demand inspection of disabled badges. Refusal to allow such an inspection carries a fine of up to £1000.
[edit] Preventing graffiti and litter
On December the 9th 2007 the mayor of Stockholm Mikael Söderlund announced that the tasks of the Parking enforcement officers will be broadened to include fining graffiti vandals and litterers. Trade union representatives say they are not prepared to take on new tasks, already stretched by metering cars, and that they fear the risk of violence. [1]
