Parking still a duty for police

When police withdrew the traffic warden service, Falkirk Council agreed to pursue a Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) designation order and police the streets themselves.

In September last year the council settled on a model which favoured reassigning part of the current off-street enforcement resource to on-street enforcement, hiring another two members of staff.

However, the DPE application is still ongoing and police retain the responsibility in the meantime as Chief Inspector Damian Armstrong, Falkirk area commander, told members at a meeting of the council’s external scrutiny committee last week.

He said: “There is no decriminalisation of parking in Falkirk yet so the responsibility sits with the police at the moment. If vehicles are parked illegally they remain a priority for us.”

Councillor John McLuckie said there seemed to be some confusion among police officers regarding the issue.

He said: “Officers have told me it is not their responsibility if someone is parked in front of a school. They say it’s only commercial vehicles they are responsible for.

“There are a number of parking issues throughout my ward and its frustrating they don’t get dealt with. Maybe we could have memo sent to all your police officers saying that it is still their responsibility to police parking.”