Focus on parking issue

By Mike McKimm BBC Northern Ireland environment correspondent

Park illegally in Northern Ireland and you commit a criminal offence.

That is because the traffic wardens who patrol the streets are still under the control of the police.

But the Department of Regional Development, whose traffic laws they enforce, wants to change the offence to a civil one.

It is a complex situation where the department pays the salary of the wardens but the Police Service of Northern Ireland employs and controls the wardens.

'More efficient'

Every ticket they write is enforced by the police who issue the summons and collect the fine.

But the department are challenging this and want to have illegal parking decriminalised.

That means the police would not have to be involved and the wardens could be redeployed more efficiently and effectively.

The advice for this comes from the Northern Ireland Audit Office whic recommended such a move over a year ago.

Changes will take time

But to make the change requires an act of parliament and that is going to take at least three years.

The bulk of the wardens duties are in enforcing the DRD's current parking regulations and it makes increasing sense to have them controlled by the same department.

Last year, the BBC discovered that the police had told the wardens to write a third fewer tickets because the police administration was too busy with other matters to process them. It was the first sign of things to come.

Commenting on the departments plans to change the law, a PSNI spokesman said: "No decisions have been taken yet on the future of the Traffic Warden service. The enforcement of traffic regulations is not a core policing function."

It is unlikely the police will resist the move.

Most areas of the UK have now decriminalised parking or changed the law to make it possible.

However, there is a warning in all of this from the Audit Office.

They have advised that such a move would make wardens much more efficient and effective in their job - not good news for motorists.