Islington Council is taking the fight to tackle parking fraud on to the streets of the borough in an effort to reduce the numbers of fraudulent blue badges now in circulation. Anyone found guilty of misuse of a blue badge could face a fine of up to £1,000 for each offence or even lose their driving licence.
"Wherever we find someone illegally using a blue badge we will take the strongest action possible to ensure the badge is confiscated and the user is prosecuted in a court of law.
By using spaces meant for people with genuine disabilities these fraudsters are making their lives more difficult as they can't park near to shops or other facilities. There will always be some people that try and cheat the system, but we have a clear message to them, we are on your case," said Councillor Lucy Watt, executive member for environment.
Previously the council has brought several prosecutions with 27 cases having already been heard before a Magistrate or at Crown Court. Out of these the council has won 26 with fines of up to £2540. And since November 2003 the council has also confiscated over 900 fraudulent blue badges from vehicles across Islington.
Recent successful prosecutions include:
Tony Adigun of Hackney fined £370
Savash Sozem of Islington fined £640
Marcia DaSilva of Harlesden, Brent fined £400
Nurey Mehmet of Islington given 100 hours community service
Ronald Street of Brent issued with a caution and ordered to pay £500 costs
Shupin Begum of Islington issued with a caution and ordered to pay £420 costs
Eunice Asafo-Adjei of Islington fined £250
Patricia Hope of Barnet fined £315
Khadimul Islam of Islington issued with a caution and ordered to pay £200 costs
There are two main types of fraud committed in the borough. The first is when a badge or permit is altered to extend the expiry date. The second is displaying a 'fake' badge or permit such as a colour photocopy and thirdly, using a stolen badge. All of these activities are illegal and the council's new campaign aims to capture as many fraudulent badges as possible and bring their users to court.
In partnership with NCP, the council has trained the borough's parking attendants to spot fake disabled badges on the street. Joint exercises with the Police in specific locations, targeting vehicles displaying fraudulent disabled badges are also underway. In addition the council is working closely with other local authorities, sharing information and targeting persistent offenders.
There are 5 (five) cases pending at the court to be heard early this month.
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Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008