Before proceeding, let’s examine the scofflaws. Every municipality has them—some that are in arrears to the tune of thousands of dollars. When you entrust the court system to manage these debts owed to you, the standard practice by the magistrate is to put the scofflaw on a payment plan. Typically, the monthly payment is so low that even if they continue to pay the scheduled amount, the municipality will never be made whole on that debt. Of course, the scofflaw will most certainly continue to rack up more fines. 

The question arises, “What other option do we have as a municipality?” The simple answer is to decriminalize parking tickets. Non-criminal adjudication allows the municipality to capture the outstanding debt owed without the need to have a criminal warrant issued for the offender. It also puts the entire process back into the hands of the issuing authority where it can get the most individual attention.

Decriminalizing parking tickets requires several steps. A municipality needs to first determine that their current process is not as effective and efficient as it should be. If you are currently using the courts, you are absolutely sacrificing revenue. For example, in Pennsylvania, a parking ticket is issued for a violation. After a period (no more than 30 days), the ticket can then be turned into a traffic citation which is when it is subsequently turned over to the magisterial court system. The court then must contact the violator to obtain a plea, collect payment, or schedule a hearing on the matter. If the violator does not respond, a warrant for their arrest can be issued. Most magisterial courts in Pennsylvania use a constable to serve their warrants. When a warrant is served, the constable gets paid a fee for that service, and the violator can be taken forthwith before the issuing judge. Most often, if the violator pays some amount of money owed, they will be put on a payment plan and be free to go. Under this system, the municipality that has already done the work only gets a small portion of their revenue. 

But is non-criminal adjudication of parking tickets all about the revenue? Of course not. The most important benefit of removing the courts from the process is that it will put command and control of the parking ticket and the revenue created by it back in the hands of the issuing authority. 

So, Where Do We Begin?

• To move forward, a municipality must make certain that the infrastructure to achieve non-criminal adjudication is in place. They must have all the necessary components to be successful in the transition to achieve a decriminalized program. A good first step is to speak with your local district attorney and/or the solicitor for your municipality to ensure you can legally proceed. The rules of criminal procedure in your state are a good place to determine what your guidelines may be. You must be sure that the process is feasible in your area.
• Next, you must have a parking professional on your team that can lead you through the transition. There are many moving parts to making this change, and there must be a point person to lead the effort. Be sure they have the knowledge, experience, industry contacts, and desire to lead you to a successful completion. 
• In addition, you will almost certainly have local ordinances on the books that address parking. A comprehensive review of those ordinances must be done, and likely new ordinances will need to be added and or amended.
• You will also need to review your current process of adjudicating tickets and determine what needs to be done to create adequate due process for your customer. When you eliminate the court system from the process, you must replace it with an adequate level of due process. Otherwise, you may open your agency up to potential legal issues. Your parking point-person leading the non-criminal adjudication effort should provide you with the guidance and recommendations needed to navigate this step. If done correctly, the due process you put in place will create a softer experience for your customers and your staff. Of course, no one likes to get a parking ticket, and when they deal with your staff, they are already upset, so friendlier is better for all involved. 

Putting control of the ticket entirely into your decision-making realm allows you to decide how you will handle the customer rather than relegating that responsibility to a third party. When the magistrate and their staff preside over your violation, you have no say what happens to the violation or how the customer is treated. For example, the magistrate would not have access to the data you possess. This information may identify violator history and allow for leniency or not.

You should be aware that it is not uncommon for administrators or directors of public parking operations to want to make this transition only to find out later that the powers that be (council, mayor, city administrator, etc.) are not quite ready to move. Don’t be discouraged. It is perfectly fine to have your team develop your plan in advance, so you are ready to move forward at a moment’s notice. Much of the time spent on the process is in development of protocols, legislative actions, or amendments, etc., and having a complete plan in hand is crucial. 

Benefits to Transitioning to Non-Criminal Adjudication

Benefits to the Customer:

• One stop shopping. They now deal with one entity—the municipality.
• Convenience. Paying the fine or filing an appeal is now centrally located.
• More compassionate. Court proceedings are usually set during the workday, requiring the customer to potentially miss work, schedule childcare, etc. to attend the hearing.
• Less expensive. The customer is no longer responsible for paying court costs or potential warrant service fees.
• Less confusing. The customer no longer has to navigate a complicated court system/process.
• Less intimidating. Appearing before a judge can be stressful. Non-criminal adjudication provides a friendlier process for the customer.

Benefits to the Municipality:

• Complete control of your ticket. The municipality will know what is happening with the ticket, in house, every step of the way.
• Create a softer approach to the process. The adversarial environment of a courtroom is no longer in place. (You will notice that this is a benefit for both the customer and the municipality. A less stressful environment is good for all).
• Apply technology. Many parts of the infrastructure of this process rely on technology and data. The ability for staff to track data and use it effectively will improve efficiency.
• Increase visibility. Parking enforcement officers will no longer need to leave their assigned responsibilities to attend court. This keeps them on the street. Their visibility to the parking public is crucial to driving parking compliance. This benefit also saves the municipality money by reducing overtime pay for officers to attend court.
• Increase realization of revenue. No longer relying upon a court system to collect fines on your behalf will increase the amount of revenue you collect. 
• Re-investment in the community. The increased revenue recovery can be used to professionalize your parking operation, beautify parks and other areas of the municipality, update your vehicle fleet, etc.

Building the Infrastructure to Make This New System Possible

By now, most municipalities have incorporated some or all the technologies that are needed to reach successful non-criminal adjudication. If you have not, your parking professional point-person should be seeking out qualified vendors on your behalf to provide you with the best services at the best prices. If the municipality does need to engage technology vendors, remember, this is an investment. The return on investment for this transition is both financial and operational. Financially, the municipality stands to recover debt that has long been owed to them and will continue to collect more effectively moving forward. Operationally, your staff will be much more efficient when you eliminate clunky software, paper tickets, and spreadsheets.

Using the court system to manage the adjudication of your tickets can be confusing, costly, and inconvenient for the customer. It can cause untold loss of revenue, a decrease in efficiency and effectiveness, and a misuse of resources for the municipality. Clearly, the time of using the courts to handle parking violations has come to an end. Moving forward, non-criminal adjudication of parking tickets and putting the control of the entire system back into the hands of the issuing authority is the way to go.