Police consider technology to track parked vehicles
DOWNTOWN Wiping chalk marks off the tires of cars being watched by parking enforcement officers could one day be a lost cause.
The Santa Monica Police Department is considering adopting a relatively new technology that would allow officers to keep track of parked vehicles by scanning and recording their license plates and later determining whether they have exceeded the allowable time.
The system, which would eliminate the inefficiencies of monitoring vehicles by marking tires, has been put into place in cities like West Hollywood and Davis, both of which use equipment by Canada-based Genetec.
Police departments in these cities mounted a camera on top of select enforcement vehicles, scouring parking-restricted areas and scanning license plates. After setting a time limit, the vehicles return and scan the area once again, ticketing any vehicles that remain.
City officials in Santa Monica have met with West Hollywood to see how their system has operated. Representatives with West Hollywood were not available for comment.
The cameras are still under consideration and no final decision is close to being made.
Chalking is a common monitoring method used in the Downtown garages where drivers don’t have to pull a ticket. Parking in the garages, which abut Santa Monica Place, is free for three hours.
Many drivers who park in the garage all day will check their tires every three hours, moving their cars or erasing the chalk marks by rubbing tires with the bottoms of their shoes or hands.
The city of Davis adopted the system in June 2005, placing the camera on one of the parking enforcement vehicles. The request came after the City Council placed a parking restriction in Downtown Davis, prohibiting drivers who exceed the two-hour limit from returning to the same block for another four hours.
The cameras were a collaboration of the Davis Police Department, the city of Davis, and the Davis Downtown Business Association, according to Joy Cohan, the association’s administrator.
It was adopted as a way to determine whether those who used parking the most, which were the employees, actually abided by the rules, Cohan said.
“It’s much more efficient,”
“We don’t have to use personnel for chalking tire after tire and going back and finding all the work is for nothing.” — Lt. Kathy Keane with the Traffic Services Division at SMPD said
The Davis City Council spent about $80,000 to purchase equipment for one parking enforcement vehicle that monitors one of four routes in the entire city. The result is fewer parking citations, according to Denny Yau, a parking enforcement officer for the Davis PD.
Whereas the department issued about 28,000 citations a year, that number has gone down to about 22,000.
While some have claimed that the system was adopted for purely financial reasons, the department has actually seen revenue stay the same.
“The threat of getting ticketed and getting a car booted has gotten folks to be compliant and they’re a little more careful of paying parking tickets on time,” Yau said.
Yau’s referring to another effect of the cameras, which can scan license plates and find offenders who have unpaid parking tickets.
The software also allows officers to find vehicles tagged by an Amber Alert and stolen cars.
Cohan believes the system has worked well in Davis, resulting in more employees purchasing permits.
“I think overall the cameras have done what we hoped they would do,” she said.
The SMPD currently has one patrol vehicle that is equipped with similar technology that is used to find stolen vehicles.
“There’s a lot that can be done with the system,” Keane said.
At least one issue is keeping city officials from possibly moving forward — the price. Keane said the department is considering doing a cost analysis to show that the system could pay for itself in the long run.
The news was met with disdain by Skyeler Hawkins, a Malibu resident who grew up in Santa Monica and currently works in the city.
“I think it’s whack,” he said while parked at the mall garage. “It’s another way for the city to earn revenue and the city is wealthy enough.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 4, 2008. Read the original PDF.