 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United Kingdom and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(December 2015) |
A civil enforcement officer (CEO or colloquially traffic warden , parking enforcement officer, or parking attendant) is a person employed to enforce parking, traffic and other restrictions and laws.
In England, they are employed by county councils, London borough councils, metropolitan district councils or Transport for London, and in Wales by county (borough) councils - or private companies contracted by any of the above. Until the passage of the Traffic Management Act 2004, on-street parking and traffic movement violations were enforced by non-warranted police traffic wardens employed by constabularies. Off-street parking violations were enforced by parking attendants employed by local authorities and private companies.
Civil enforcement officers may only exercise their functions when wearing a uniform authorised by the Home Secretary. [1]
Their powers include:
Penalty charge notices are not criminal proceedings, and failure to pay will result in certificated bailiffs serving warrants of execution. [6] They may issue penalties for several moving violations, among them driving in bus lanes, executing prohibited turns and driving the wrong way on a one way system. [7]
Civil enforcement officers employed by some authorities[ who? ] issue fixed penalties for non-traffic offences using the community safety accreditation scheme of the Police Reform Act 2002.
In Wales, the Vale of Glamorgan Council employs "dual role" uniformed enforcement officers that are authorised to enforce both civil parking legislation, and criminal legislation with regard to environmental crime, anti-social behaviour, bylaws and public spaces protection orders. [8]
In Belgium, municipalities use Stadswachten (City Guards); these public but civil officials can be compared to civil enforcement officers and can only write reports that are sent to a magistrate who decides if, according to the findings of the guards report, a fine will be issued. In Belgium, Stadswachten can be recognized by the purple jackets they wear.
In the Netherlands municipalities used Stadswachten (City Guards) until 2004; these officers were public civil servants who patrolled the city but had no power to fine civilians. These days[ when? ] Stadswachten do not exist anymore, and the Guard departments were changed into Handhaving (Enforcement) units. Unlike the British City Wardens, Handhavers (Enforcers) do not have civil status but are fully public officials and have limited police powers. These officers are sworn BOA (Special Enforcement Officer) and have the powers to detain people to confirm their identity, search people for proof of identification or offensive or dangerous weapons (if arrested), investigate offences and certain crimes, issue fixed penalties, make warrantless arrests and use force with or without the use of weapons (baton, pepperspray). Most municipal enforcement officers (BOA) are equipped with handcuffs. Some cities also issue police batons to their officers. According to Dutch law, some BOA's can be equipped with pepperspray (cities of Utrecht and Amsterdam in 2016) and a handgun (cities of EDE and Enschede) if the necessity is proven by the city council and mayor. Also, BOA's working for the Dutch Correctional Services (Dienst Vervoer en Ondersteuning) who do transportation and guard duty for the Dutch Prisons are equipped with a baton, pepperspray and a handgun. They also support the Dutch police force whenever and where ever it is needed. Failure to comply with an order given by a BOA can result in arrest.
In 2014 the justice department ordered the creation of a national style uniform for BOAs employed by municipalities. Until that date, every city had its own uniform. The new uniform is based on the national police uniform but with a different color and unique element. The name used in this uniform is HANDHAVING and consist of a navy blue cargo pants, two colored polo shirts (navy and cobalt blue) with a checkered band across the chest. On the chest and on the back is the text "Handhaving" and on the sleeves are BOA patches which consist of a hand holding a scepter in front of a shield. Furthermore, officers wear Spanish-style police caps with a checker band and a metal BOA insignia on the front. Officers are allowed to wear high shoes with trouser legs twisted above them. Some cities issue officer anti stab vests in the same colors as the polo shirts, although a few cities use high-visibility yellow vests. A majority of large cities also use BOA bike patrol, motorcycle units (Amsterdam and Rotterdam), vehicle patrols in marked cars or plain clothes officers.
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Most law enforcement duties are carried out by those who hold the office of police constable of a territorial police force.
A Police Community Support Officer, or as written in legislation Community Support Officer is a uniformed member of police staff in England and Wales, a role created by Section 38(2) of the Police Reform Act 2002, which was given Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 July 2002. They are non-warranted but provided with a variety of police powers and the power of a constable in various instances by the forty-three territorial police forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police.
Police ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships in police organisations. The rank system defines authority and responsibility in a police organisation, and affects the culture within the police force. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms.
A parking enforcement officer (PEO), traffic warden, parking inspector/parking officer, or civil enforcement officer is a member of a traffic control agency, local government, or police force who issues tickets for parking violations. The term parking attendant is sometimes considered a synonym but sometimes used to refer to the different profession of parking lot attendant.
Law enforcement in Australia is one of the three major components of the country's justice system, along with courts and corrections. Law enforcement officers are employed by all three levels of government – federal, state/territory, and local.
The Transit Enforcement Unit is a special constabulary maintained by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. First established in 1997, the Unit consists of special constables and provincial offences officers, referred to internally as transit fare inspectors. The unit's special constables have the full powers of a police power on or in relation to TTC property, and, as of 2023, the unit employs 101 special constables out of an authorized complement of 145.
A crossing guard, lollipop man/lady, crosswalk attendant, or school road patrol is a traffic management personnel who is normally stationed on busy roadways to aid pedestrians. Often associated with elementary school children, crossing guards stop the flow of traffic so pedestrians may cross an intersection.
In the United Kingdom, a fixed penalty notice (FPN) is a notice giving an individual the opportunity to be made immune from prosecution for an alleged criminal offence in exchange for a fee. Fixed penalty notices were introduced in Britain in the 1980s to deal with minor parking offences. Originally used by police and traffic wardens, their use has extended to other public officials and authorities, as has the range of offences for which they can be used.
Wandsworth Parks and Events Police is a Wandsworth Borough Council service responsible for the routine patrolling of the parks, commons, and open spaces within the London Borough of Wandsworth, which has more green spaces than any other inner London borough. It also enforces byelaws, dog control orders, and other park regulations, and provides policing for special events. Its lineage may be traced to a 1984 foundation, although the present body dates from 2012, and was rebranded in 2015 with its current name and responsibilities.
Decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) is the name given in the United Kingdom to the civil enforcement of car parking regulations, carried out by civil enforcement officers, operating on behalf of a local authority. The Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40) provided for the decriminalisation of parking-related contraventions committed within controlled parking zones (CPZ) administered by local councils across the UK. The CPZs under the control of the local councils are also referred to as yellow routes and they can be easily identified with yellow lines marked on the roads with relevant time plates. Councils employ parking attendants to enforce their CPZs directly.
The Aviation Policing Command (APC) now renamed as Aviation Security Operational Unit (SO18) is a Specialist Operations unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The unit is responsible for providing policing and security for both Heathrow and London City airports. London's other airports, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton are policed by Sussex, Essex, and Bedfordshire Police respectively, as they are not located in the Metropolitan Police District.
A bylaw enforcement officer is an employee of a municipality, county or regional district, charged with the enforcement of local ordinance—bylaws, laws, codes, or regulations enacted by local governments. Bylaw enforcement officers often work closely with police and other law enforcement agencies, but are generally not considered emergency services.
An immigration officer is a law enforcement official whose job is to ensure that immigration legislation is enforced. This can cover the rules of entry for visa applicants, foreign nationals or those seeking asylum at the border, detecting and apprehending those that have breached the border and removing them, or pursuing those in breach of immigration and criminal laws.
Community safety accreditation schemes enable the chief constable of a police force in the United Kingdom to grant a limited range of police powers to employees of non-police organisations bolstering community safety. Community safety accreditation schemes were created under section 40 of the Police Reform Act 2002. Individuals who have been granted these powers are known under the Act as accredited persons.
A security guard is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets from a variety of hazards by enforcing preventative measures. Security guards do this by maintaining a high-visibility presence to deter illegal and inappropriate actions, looking for signs of crime or other hazards, taking action to minimize damage, and reporting any incidents to their clients and emergency services, as appropriate.
National Police Corps, colloquially in English as Dutch National Police or National Police Force, is divided in ten regional units, a central unit, the police academy, police services center, and national dispatch center cooperation. The law-enforcement purposes of these agencies are the investigation of suspected criminal activity, referral of the results of investigations to the courts, and the temporary detention of suspected criminals pending judicial action. Law enforcement agencies, to varying degrees at different levels of government and in different agencies, are also commonly charged with the responsibilities of deterring criminal activity and preventing the successful commission of crimes in progress. The police commissioner in the Netherlands is Henk van Essen since May 1, 2020.
National Highways traffic officers, previously Highways Agency traffic officer (HATO), are employed by the National Highways.
Welsh Government traffic officers are civilian staff employed by the trunk road agents on behalf of the Welsh Government as a means to ease traffic congestion on major trunk roads in Wales. Their role and powers are similar to their English counterparts working for National Highways, the National Highways traffic officers.
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal is a tribunal in the United Kingdom which manages appeals against penalty charge notices or PCNs, a form of civil penalty, for areas in England outside of London. It was created by statute to fulfil provisions of the Traffic Management Act 2004, it is partly responsible to the PATROL joint committee, a collection of local authorities responsible for enforcing PCNs who make use of the traffic penalty tribunals adjudication process.
