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orlitzky t1_jd5mwd9 wrote

Reply to comment by Cunninghams_right in DON'T PARK IN BIKE LANES Due to the increased 311 reports in the area, we are increasing E Monument St between N Broadway & N Washington. by BmoreCityDOT

> this would be problematic photoshop... you would just need parking enforcement to occasionally double-check on the reported cars to make sure people are not committing fraud

They should be checking all of them. The driver is being accused of a crime, so both the reporter and the person issuing the citation should be subject to some "penalty of perjury" boilerplate, implying that they have at least looked at the thing. And you don't get paid unless the city knows your real identity. So all things considered I think this would be a pretty unattractive form of fraud/revenge.

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Cunninghams_right t1_jd8nlvj wrote

if a city employee has to physically be there to check every report, then there is no point in having a citizen reporting mechanism. if the city employee isn't there, then the image can be faked. if you had a city employee show up to SOME, but not all, citizen reports, then it could deter people from committing fraud because there is a real risk of getting caught.

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orlitzky t1_jda7bk7 wrote

I didn't realize you meant check them in person. I was suggesting that they (remotely) check the image metadata, compare the photo to the make/model of the registered vehicle, look at the witness's report history, etc. Basic sanity checks before issuing the citation. Checking in person rules out ticketing anyone who parks in the bike lane for less than, say, half an hour.

As for photoshop, the bottom line is that I can already fabricate evidence and sue random strangers if I want to. The fact that this involves a bike lane doesn't fundamentally change anything in that regard. It's high risk and low reward, and unless I missed a fun new crime trend, is not a big problem in practice.

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Cunninghams_right t1_jdadbr4 wrote

yes, a basic sanity check should happen with every citation.

involving the city and issuing a citation is fundamentally different from a person taking another person to civil court. the city is going to have to be liable for the claims of random people, so it should have a bit more scrutiny. but like I said, it does not need to be very many spot-checks in person in order to be a significant deterrent, AND help the city be less open to lawsuits in the future for not doing due diligence. .

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