Bono Vows to Prosecute Those Who Tamper with Police Boots
August 15, 2010 by Temple09 · 6 Comments
Police and parking enforcement in Norristown have been on a ticket-writing, towing, and booting blitz over the last decade and some residents have attempted to take the law into their own hands. Despite hefty locks being part of the boot-devices, numerous drivers have managed to take them off of their cars with one man tossing the boot into the Schuylkill River. Since 2007, the Parking Division has booted approximately 1,800 vehicles in Norristown. “It’s actually costing them more money in the long run,” police Chief Russell Bono said, referring to the additional $300 people are charged if they destroy the boot. Cars can be booted for having only three unpaid parking tickets. Over the past decade, the city has significantly boosted its parking ticket revenue, “taking in $737,933 last year.” The three parking enforcement agents, along with the Norristown Police Department issued 62,164 tickets in 2009, compared to just 13,981 in 1999.
Report Says Six Fixed Parking Tickets in Philadelphia
June 9, 2010 by Temple09 · 5 Comments
A recent ticket-fixing probe from the Inspector General’s Office found that Clorise Wynn, the deputy director of the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication, along with five other employees at the same office were fixing tickets for friends, family and coworkers. Wynn retired on May 25th before the city could fire or discipline her. All of the other five employees have either been fired or have resigned from their jobs. The report found that Wynn was receiving free or discounted food from one company in exchange for “dismissing $50,000 worth of tickets” for them. Inspector General Amy Kurland called for the bureau to provide “better training and establish clear policies for employees who consider ticket appeals, particularly for hearings involving friends, family and coworkers.” When asked about the situation, Mayor Nutter said “There are no deals. This is not the phone company. We don’t have a friends-and-family plan.”
Allentown Passes Ban on Cell Phones for Motorists
March 4, 2010 by Temple09 · 19 Comments
Allentown, Pennsylvania, is the newest PA city to ban motorists’ right to use a cell phone while driving, unless it’s handheld device. The city council unanimously supported the bill which makes texting, talking, or browsing the web on a handheld device illegal while driving. Fines can range from $150 to $300 and the law applies to skateboarders, roller skaters and bicyclists as well.
Scofflaws Owe Thousands in Tickets
January 29, 2010 by Temple09 · 7 Comments
Philadelphia citizens have found a loophole in the law that has allowed them to not pay parking fines for years. Basically, all one has to do is get a new tag, and replace their old on with it. (This can be done by saying your old one was lost or stolen.) The office that issues the tags doesn’t do background checks, so when the new tag is applied to the car it comes up and ticket-free. According to one list, the 25 people who are most guilty of this practice have 199 separate tags and $305,000 in unpaid tickets.
