In Our View: Give Violators the Boot

It is an interesting word with an interesting etymology.

“Scofflaw” was devised in 1924 as a descriptor for those who drank illegally during Prohibition, and some 90 years later it still reflects a gentle nod-and-wink disapproval. According to the Ken Burns documentary about the era, the word was the winning entry when the Boston Herald conducted a contest seeking a way to label those who scoffed at the law.

All of this, believe it or not, is relevant to modern-day Vancouver. Because, as a recent article by Columbian reporter Amy M.E. Fischer detailed, the city has quite a problem with those who flout its parking regulations. Last year, the city issued more than 20,000 parking tickets to 2,768 vehicles. And while most people perform their civic duty and pay their parking fines, nearly 3,000 tickets amounting to about $100,000 were sent to a collection agency following lack of payment.

The king — or maybe the jester — of the parking offenders is the owner of a 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche registered in Oregon, a vehicle that racked up 233 tickets last year and had earned 201 tickets this year through July 24. The fines add up to more than $11,000, but the city has few options in the way of making the owner pay. “Fortunately, it is a rare occurrence,” City Manager Eric Holmes said. “The city is pursuing these violators to the full extent of our current parking ordinance.”

Therein lies the problem. While parking enforcement likely does not rank atop the list of problems facing the city, it brings up issues of law and order and, frankly, civilized society. For, as academic Thomas Szasz once said: “If he who breaks the law is not punished, he who obeys it is cheated. This, and this alone, is why lawbreakers ought to be punished: To authenticate as good, and to encourage as useful, law-abiding behavior.”

Yes, we believe that law-abiding behavior is good and useful. The United States, it often is said, is not a nation of people but a nation of laws. And what is the point of having laws if the city or the county or the state allows them to be ignored? What is the point of having parking meters if the city does not have a manner for preventing them from being scoffed at?

Currently, the city of Vancouver refers unpaid parking tickets to a collection agency, and three or more unpaid tickets are referred to the Washington State Department of Licensing. That department can deny vehicle registration and suspend a driver’s license, but that is not useful for dealing with a vehicle registered in Oregon.

All of that is rather philosophical, yet there are practical implications for local business owners. Having a vehicle inhabit a parking spot illegally or having it set up shop and collect tickets for an entire day can prevent legitimate customers from patronizing businesses. As Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt said, “Clearly, this individual is just completely disregarding our local laws, and we’ve got to figure out how to hold them accountable for what they’re doing.”

The apparent solution would be for Vancouver to institute the use of parking boots, which are attached to vehicles to immobilize them. If the fine is not paid, the vehicle is then impounded. Other Washington cities have adopted or strengthened such policies in recent years, and the time has come for Vancouver to do the same. Otherwise, our laws amount to nothing more than a nod and a wink to those who scoff at them.