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£1.3 MILLION HIGH-TECH COCK-UP
Fortune spent on parking gadgets that don’t work
A £1.3 MILLION scheme to use high-tech gadgets to log evidence against parking cheats has hit the buffers because some of the devices don’t work, the New Journal can reveal.
Hand-held computers and top of the range digital cameras have been hit by gremlins during patrols and some wardens have returned to the old-fashioned method of writing down alleged offences in notebooks.
A council spokeswoman said last night (Wednesday) that the difficulties centred on batteries which ran out of power more quickly than first imagined during early runs of the project. She said that teething problems were being overcome.
Conservative environment chief Councillor Mike Greene said: “The technology is still relatively new and it is the case that problems can occur once attendants are on the street.”
His comments came as he turned down a request from a Tory colleague, new councillor Roger Freeman, for a “no photo no fine” policy to be introduced in relation to evidence used to back up parking penalties at last Monday’s full council meeting.
The Town Hall made a big show of the new equipment when they signed up to it last December – heralding cameras that would provide crystal pictures to end quibbling over tickets once and for all.
Department heads and Labour councillors, then in charge at the Town Hall, even organised a press launch at which journalists were invited to hear how the new ‘cutting edge’ mini-computers would halt the endless arguing over dispute penalties that has dogged Camden’s parking service by providing undisputable evidence.
In a move trumpeted as ground-breaking at the time – Stoke-On-Trent is the only other authority in the country to use to the technology – Camden doled out more than 180 handsets and cameras to wardens. Manufactured by DAP Technologies, the system provides barcode tracking and sends up to date information to office staff about every time a ticket is issued.
In a response to Cllr Freeman, Cllr Greene said wardens were not completely relying on the new technology just yet and in some cases still falling back on their handwritten notes in their pocketbooks.
He said: “The photographic evidence may not always be of the desired quality. For example, photos taken in poor light conditions. There may be occasions when photographs are simply unobtainable.”
DAP Technologies are a multi-national company with a main UK office in Suffolk. Staff at that branch directed the New Journal to a press enquiries team based in the company’s main headquarters in Canada but requests for information were yesterday (Wednesday) not returned.
A Camden press official said: “There were some problems when the technology was first introduced but they have been sorted out.”
There is no evidence of a disagreement between the Camden and DAP Technologies and the bill for the machines is thought to have already been settled.
Cllr Freeman had made a written request for Cllr Greene to address the issue.
He said: “Parking wardens are being issued with digital cameras and they are proud of the fact that apparently we are one of the first councils to have such equipment but we are not in a position where all of them (wardens) have cameras.” |
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