New way to make money!

[CBR_rider]

According to this Fox News article, there is now an app in the works that will allow users to tag illegal parkers and forward the info to law enforcement or parking attendents (in private lots). The kicker is they claim that the "spotter" will get a cut of the citation fee. I'm curious how the spotter would get money if it was, say an expired meter on a city street or a vehicle blocking the roadway? Also, they mention the data generated by the users not being open to discovery in court... I'd love to see how long that lasts.

I swear, if I ever get sent a call generated by one of these bozo's I will flip my lid.

[FanTactical]

Lol. My belief is that it will get bounced the instant it is challenged. When is anything not open to discovery, that is, anything besides the NSA or the secret court? Oops. Did I say that?

I wish it was allowable to photograph cell phone violators. That would generate a heck of a lot more revenue.

[baz152]

Wow, has anyone read 1984?

[jeremiah12]

The article states it is being tested in Canada. So there is no pesky Bill of Rights to deal with. My mother lived there for many years and was amazed by the attitude most had that only those with something to hide would not fully cooperate with the government officials and need an attorney.

[Sheepdog1968]

So you are double parked screwing up traffic and someone photos it and sends it in and you get a ticket. I have no issues with that. I'm fed up with folks not following the rules. I used to live in a big city. It was amazing the stuff I would see daily.

[RedVines]

There's no difference between this new app and a citizen calling in a non emergency complaint on a parking violation. I see absolutely no implications of the Bill of Rights or George Orwell with this app.

[Just-in]

Wow, has anyone read 1984?

Heard about it.

[CBR_rider]

There's no difference between this new app and a citizen calling in a non emergency complaint on a parking violation. I see absolutely no implications of the Bill of Rights or George Orwell with this app.

Except someone calling in the non emergency line isn't looking to get a cut of the fine money.

[Watchur6]

^Bingo

[RedVines]

Except someone calling in the non emergency line isn't looking to get a cut of the fine money.

The intention of the reportee has no implication on the integrity of the system he or she chooses to use to report a violation. Why does it matter why someone reports a violation as long as the violation is legitimate? This company just gave people a financial incentive to use its app to report violations instead of calling it in. I don't see how the fact that these app user get paid out by the company forms a conflict of interest for any party involved.

[CBR_rider]

I think it does raise several important issues:
#1 Again, how is it the company is going to pay out its spotters after they report violations from public areas?
#2 How do they expect their program and spotters to remain out of court for purposes of discovery?
#3 But it IS relevant if we begin to see a shift in our justice system to where people report crime/issues only to expect to be paid. You are correct, if I report that someone is double parked and want $5 for it, it doesn't change the fact that someone is double parked. But what if governments/companies expand the program to include all offenses? What will happen to A) the integrity of cases and B) the rights of citizens once (if) we create a culture where people decide that a great moonlighting job can be had turning in their fellow citizens for everything from parking violations to murder and everything in between? The government cannot explicitly use private citizens as its own "agents" to get evidence/information in a way the circumvents the Fourth Amendment, so how will it play out in court if people are using apps specifically designed to pay them (with the check cut by the government from fine money) to report evidence of criminal activity that would otherwise be unavailable to law enforcement due to Fourth Amendment issues?

[Ajaxx]

I wish they would give a bounty on all the people the register the motor home or car in Oregon & live in Cali. I could get rich! That includes all the business vehicles.

[RedVines]

I think it does raise several important issues:
#1 Again, how is it the company is going to pay out its spotters after they report violations from public areas?
#2 How do they expect their program and spotters to remain out of court for purposes of discovery?
#3 But it IS relevant if we begin to see a shift in our justice system to where people report crime/issues only to expect to be paid. You are correct, if I report that someone is double parked and want $5 for it, it doesn't change the fact that someone is double parked. But what if governments/companies expand the program to include all offenses? What will happen to A) the integrity of cases and B) the rights of citizens once (if) we create a culture where people decide that a great moonlighting job can be had turning in their fellow citizens for everything from parking violations to murder and everything in between? The government cannot explicitly use private citizens as its own "agents" to get evidence/information in a way the circumvents the Fourth Amendment, so how will it play out in court if people are using apps specifically designed to pay them (with the check cut by the government from fine money) to report evidence of criminal activity that would otherwise be unavailable to law enforcement due to Fourth Amendment issues?

1) It seems like the company would be paying its app users out of their own operating budget, which may include contract money from city governments using their app. There are private sectors applications for this app as well. And even if a City government contracts this company to use their software the company can then turn and use that money however they want, including paying their app users. Maybe the contract between a city government and the company would be something along the lines of "if we hit a certain number of parking fine revenue we will pay you a bonus". That way it won't necessarily be "taking a cut of the fines". I see no difference between a government-contracted private company paying their employees vs paying their app users. I can also see how smaller cities that don't want to hire a whole lot of parking enforcement officers using this app to "crowd source" the work. It really is a viable option for them.

2) I believe they expect their program and its user to remain out of court for the purposes of discovery because parking violations are not criminal offenses. Court procedures for appealing a parking ticket are probably VERY different than a criminal proceeding that most of us are familiar with. I don't know for sure.

3) Sure this "culture" you speak of seems far from idealistic, but it's already in place in the criminal justice system and has past muster in court time and time again. CI's get paid don't they? They provide information and admissible evidence SPECIFICALLY because they are getting paid. CI's identities are also protected from discovery in criminal proceedings except for under certain specific circumstances. Government and private citizens alike also offer monetary rewards for certain crimes don't they? Does that taint the following criminal proceedings? No. People report all sorts of stuff to the police for whatever reason. I don't see how getting paid to do it by a private company would taint that information. Compare this parking app scenario with a private security company that gives its employees monetary bonuses for successfully reporting criminal offenses to the police. Is that any different? Not really in my eyes.

I disagree with you on the Fourth Amendment issue as far as parking tickets go. I don't see ANY implications of the Fourth Amendment when it comes to parking violations. A vehicle parked in plain view in public has absolutely no reasonable expectation of privacy. Issuing a parking citation, which is a civil citation not a criminal one, is neither a search nor a seizure under the Fourth Amendment. I'm pretty sure someone invoking the fourth amendment to fight a parking ticket would get a swift "guilty".

I will concede that if this app were to be expanded to criminal cases that the company may have problems keeping their app users out of court for discovery purposes. I will also concede that evidence in a criminal proceeding provided by a private citizen being paid to do just that by an entity with some sort of connection with the government would definitely be challenged in court on grounds of Fourth Amendment issues.

[IlDuche]

Simple answer. Don't write parkers anymore. That's what DPT type agencies are for. Hooray for my allowed discretion.

[RedVines]

Simple answer. Don't write parkers anymore. That's what DPT type agencies are for. Hooray for my allowed discretion.

Agreed.