Pay and display crooks prosecuted30 May 2003The crackdown on theft from pay and display machines has yielded impressive results in the Royal Borough this year, with a wave of successful prosecutions over recent months and revenues well up on this time last year. One offender is currently serving a four-month prison sentence, a second man has received a 12-month conditional discharge, whilst police cautioned a third man in March. These successes are thanks to joint operations between police and parking enforcement officers. This month two men have been charged in connection with a number of thefts from machines across the Borough, so there may be more prosecutions in the pipeline. Concerns grew last year that parking revenues had been affected by criminals targeting pay and display machines. The Royal Borough's response has been to boost the presence of Council Officers on the street and to target continuing problems with pay and display machines being deliberately blocked or damaged. Councillor Daniel Moylan, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Transportation, said: "Pay and display crime is a nationwide problem but in Kensington and Chelsea we have been getting to grips with it. Our machines are ever harder to steal from and thieves are now much more likely to be caught, as these cases clearly demonstrate." For further information contact Press and Public Relations. Notes for Editors: Carl Robert McGowan was convicted on 10 April on five counts relating to theft from pay and display machines and going equipped for theft. He was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment. Jonathan Christopher Hayes was given a 12-month conditional discharge following a Court appearance in January on a charge of attempted theft. Philip Taylor was arrested on 3 March 2003 for stealing from a machine, and given a Police caution at Kensington Police Station.
|
|||
top of page