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  1. Published on: 23/08/2016 07:24 AMReported by: roving-eye
    The theft of Blue Badges has risen by a fifth in the past 12 months and has trebled in three years, councils warned recently.



    More than two million disabled people use Blue Badges for free parking in pay and display bays and for up to three hours on yellow lines. In London, badge holders are exempt from the congestion charge saving them around £2,500 a year.

    The Local Government Association, representing more than 370 councils across England and Wales, said thefts of Blue Badges went up from 1,756 in 2014 to 2,056 in 2015.

    This increase marks a rise in thefts for the third year running with 656 recorded in 2013.

    The LGA said councils continue to crackdown on dishonest motorists by prosecuting offenders and seizing Blue Badges suspected of being used illegally.

    Fraudsters have increasingly been prosecuted by councils in the past year for using stolen or lost badges and using dead relative's badges in order to scam free parking to go shopping or travel to work.

    The number of people caught abusing the scheme has almost trebled in five years with 985 successful council prosecutions in 2015 – up from 330 in 2010.

    Cllr Martin Tett, LGA Transport spokesman, said: "The theft of Blue Badges is clearly a crime on the rise and it is alarming that incidents have trebled in just three years.

    "Illegally using a Blue Badge is not a victimless crime. For disabled people, Blue Badges are a vital lifeline that helps them get out and about to visit shops or family and friends. Callous thieves and unscrupulous fraudsters using them illegally are robbing disabled people of this independence.

    "Despite limited resources, councils continue to work hard to crackdown on this growing crime. More Blue Badge fraudsters than ever are being brought to justice by councils who will come down hard on drivers illegally using them.

    "It is important to catch these criminals in the act. To help councils win the fight against Blue Badge fraud, residents must keep tipping us off about people they suspect are illegally using a badge, bearing in mind people's need for a badge might not always be obvious."

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    Your Comments:


  3. Knot wright says:23/08/2016 09:54 AM
    I dont mind the badge I use being checked up on , its only happened a few times , and again its for a invisible condition that gets nice stares off the general public but I am sure a higher check rate would help sort out this problem , and crush the cars of the offenders , stealing and using a disabled persons property for their own gain !!

  4. Greywolf says:23/08/2016 10:13 AM
    I used to see a convertable parked regulaly with the top down and the disabled badge resting on the dash board. May as well had a "Steal me." sign next to it. There must be a simple way to secure those badges to the dash? A project for the local collage perhaps, and who knows, they could take it to Dragons Den.

  5. Ruler!1 says:23/08/2016 11:45 AM
    They could always digitise them like they have done with the tax disks. That way the parking people can just run the plates and see if they are registered on the system as being a blue badge holder or not ?

    Alternatively - make the blue badge a sticker or barcode ?? Something a bit more modern than a piece of paper !!

  6. Greywolf says:23/08/2016 12:34 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Ruler!1 View Post
    They could always digitise them like they have done with the tax disks. That way the parking people can just run the plates and see if they are registered on the system as being a blue badge holder or not ?

    Alternatively - make the blue badge a sticker or barcode ?? Something a bit more modern than a piece of paper !!
    A good idea, but... That will mean any member of the family could simply use Dad or Mums car and that would allow them to use the blue badge. Rather like councilors families use councillors parking pass by simply using the family car. But, perhaps as you say, a bar code, but still require the clock to stop parking past your time. Motilbilty have tightened up (And not before time) on the choice of cars and drivers. They had cases of say the grandson who couldn't afford insurance or a new car, getting their name put down as a named driver on say mums or grandmums car, and that would almost be the last they saw of it.

  7. Ceam says:23/08/2016 05:36 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Ruler!1 View Post
    They could always digitise them like they have done with the tax disks. That way the parking people can just run the plates and see if they are registered on the system as being a blue badge holder or not ?

    Alternatively - make the blue badge a sticker or barcode ?? Something a bit more modern than a piece of paper !!
    It's the user not the car that is registered. So that wouldn't work as the badge has to be transferable from car to car.
    What is needed is better policing, and people that are willing to report miss use of the blue badge.


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