The drive towards safer public parking?BR />A staggering 260,000 vehicle-related thefts took place in the UK, due to vehicles being left with a window open or a door unlocked, according to the British Crime Survey 2005/06. This is one theft or attempted of a vehicle, or theft of belongings from a vehicle... every two minutes!
Of these 260,000 thefts, 15% of all thefts from vehicles, and 10% of all thefts of vehicles happen within the UK's public car parks. There is a growing movement among car park owners and administrators to make improvements to the safety of their properties in order to reduce car crime and the fear of crime.
The safer parking scheme 'Park Mark' is promoted by the British Parking Association and supported by the Home Office. This Park Mark Award is only awarded to a car park, after an assessment of the location is carried out by one of the 7 regional assessors. The car park's facilities and environment must meet a set of stringent quality, security and safety criteria. If these standards are met, then the car park is permitted to display the blue Park Mark notice with a white tick to indicate to its customers that the car park offers a safer place to leave their vehicle. This is obviously not just an ethically responsible move, but also makes good business sense, as the car park becomes a more attractive option to the public.
There also exists a new service 'Park Angel', which stands to address parking safety issues, such as the leaving of open windows or doors unlocked, or indeed valuables on display. The owner is able to be anonymously contacted by a member of the public or local authority (i.e. a car park attendant) by sending a free text message to alert the owner to the risk of crime that their car may be under. This is done via a warning notice purchased by the vehicle's owner and placed in their windscreen. The system would also be useful under other circumstances, such as if a vehicle owner had left their lights on. Of course the use of this is not limited to car parks, but indeed anywhere the vehicle may be parked. Park Angel Ltd is taking steps to lobby local authorities to ensure their staff text the service when they see a vehicle in need of its owner.
The general inclination, by both local authorities and many privately and commercially owned car parks, to take steps to improve the security in their car parks is to be applauded. It stands to demonstrate that the local authority or parking service provider is providing a positive public service, rather than simply pursuing ends to generate funds from fines.