''Impossible to trace'': Fines to foreign-registered cars rocket in two years
By Lawrence Marzouk
Barnet and Potters Bar Times
The number of unpaid parking tickets issued to cars with foreign number plates in Barnet has rocketed by more than 2,000 per cent since the enlargement of the European Union two years ago, figures revealed this week.
Barnet police and Barnet Council have admitted that the number of cars with foreign registrations was presenting a real problem in the search for drivers who had committed parking offences and more serious crimes.
Figures released by the council's parking department revealed that in the year before May 1, 2004, when Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU only 50 fines were left unpaid by cars registered outside of the UK. The corresponding figure for 2005-06 is 1,107.
The total number of parking tickets handed out to foreign-registered vehicles almost doubled in the same period, but the enlargement link has yet to be formally identified although police have noticed an increase in eastern European number plates on the borough's roads.
Figures collated in the 2001 census show that 1,341 Polish-born people were living in the borough, placing Barnet third-highest of all London boroughs, but the number is likely to have increased considerably in the past two years.
According to the Association for London Government (ALG) only 4.5 per cent of parking fines issued to foreign-registered vehicles are paid. A council spokeswoman pointed out that this figure is much higher in the borough, but admitted: "Foreign-registered vehicles are a significant problem for any enforcement body as they cannot identify the registered keeper of the vehicle."
A change in legislation later this year will allow councils to impound or clamp vehicles which have outstanding penalties, although Barnet has not yet considered whether it will use these powers. It is legal to drive a car with a foreign number plate in the UK for up to six months.
A police spokesperson said: "Ever since Britain entered the European Community, cars from all over Europe have been legally brought to Britain in much the same way as UK drivers have been allowed to take their cars into Europe. Officers are unable to routinely access each others' databases to check on these vehicles or the drivers."
Key facts
Number of fines issued to foreign-registered cars in Barnet (those still unpaid in brackets)
2003-04: 1,273 (50)
2004-05: 1,321 (220)
2005-06: 2,172 (1,107)
Barnet and Potters Bar Times
The number of unpaid parking tickets issued to cars with foreign number plates in Barnet has rocketed by more than 2,000 per cent since the enlargement of the European Union two years ago, figures revealed this week.
Barnet police and Barnet Council have admitted that the number of cars with foreign registrations was presenting a real problem in the search for drivers who had committed parking offences and more serious crimes.
Figures released by the council's parking department revealed that in the year before May 1, 2004, when Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU only 50 fines were left unpaid by cars registered outside of the UK. The corresponding figure for 2005-06 is 1,107.
The total number of parking tickets handed out to foreign-registered vehicles almost doubled in the same period, but the enlargement link has yet to be formally identified although police have noticed an increase in eastern European number plates on the borough's roads.
Figures collated in the 2001 census show that 1,341 Polish-born people were living in the borough, placing Barnet third-highest of all London boroughs, but the number is likely to have increased considerably in the past two years.
According to the Association for London Government (ALG) only 4.5 per cent of parking fines issued to foreign-registered vehicles are paid. A council spokeswoman pointed out that this figure is much higher in the borough, but admitted: "Foreign-registered vehicles are a significant problem for any enforcement body as they cannot identify the registered keeper of the vehicle."
A change in legislation later this year will allow councils to impound or clamp vehicles which have outstanding penalties, although Barnet has not yet considered whether it will use these powers. It is legal to drive a car with a foreign number plate in the UK for up to six months.
A police spokesperson said: "Ever since Britain entered the European Community, cars from all over Europe have been legally brought to Britain in much the same way as UK drivers have been allowed to take their cars into Europe. Officers are unable to routinely access each others' databases to check on these vehicles or the drivers."
Key facts
Number of fines issued to foreign-registered cars in Barnet (those still unpaid in brackets)
2003-04: 1,273 (50)
2004-05: 1,321 (220)
2005-06: 2,172 (1,107)
posted by Neil Herron at 3:49 PM
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