Civil enforcement officer

Not to be confused with Civilian enforcement officer.

A civil enforcement officer is a person employed to enforce parking, traffic and other restrictions and laws in England & Wales. 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 civilian traffic wardens employed by constabularies. Off-street parking violations were enforced by parking attendants employed by local authorities and private companies.

Powers

Civil enforcement officers may only exercise their functions when wearing a uniform authorised by the Secretary of State. They may issue Penalty Charge Notices for numerous offences, and can inspect and confiscate blue badges. They may immobilise vehicles. Penalty charge notices are not criminal proceedings, and failure to pay will result in certificated bailiffs serving warrants of execution.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. They may penalize for failure to display valid road tax. Civil enforcement officers employed by some authorities issue fixed penalties for locally enacted ordinances using the Community Protection scheme of the Police Reform Act 2002 . This range of offences include environmental crime such as fly-tipping and spitting, as well as anti-social behaviour like noise violations and truancy, in addition to issuing tickets for parking and traffic violations.

See also

• Parking enforcement officer