Thirteen arrested as Westminster cracks down on parking meter theft (19/01/2007)

Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with stealing thousands of pounds from parking meters in Westminster.

Police recovered £3,500 in cash and 17 counterfeit parking meter keys following a ten-day long surveillance operation run in conjunction with Westminster City Council.

Those arrested are believed to be part of a gang which could have as many as 100 members and are targeting parking meters in the borough.

In a separate incident, officers arrested three men near Regent's Park station after a passer-by spotted them acting suspiciously. Cash and counterfeit meter keys were found in their car.

Councillor Danny Chalkley, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Transportation said: "These are small but significant victories in the fight against these criminals. We will continue to work with the police and do all we can to bring an end to this menace on our streets."

DCI Jeremy Burton of the Westminster Crime Squad added: "Officers from my unit in partnership with Westminster City Council have been proactively targeting these offenders."

The gang is believed to made up of mainly Eastern Europeans who sometimes wear overalls and high-visibility waistcoats to make it look as if they are parking officals.

Recent figures show that the thefts are costing the City Council as much as £20,000 a week.

Westminster is currently fitting new reinforced locks to all of its parking meters in the borough.

The locks use laser cut keys which are near impossible to replicate.

The move is part of a package of measures designed to help eliminate theft, fraud and vandalism to parking meters.

One example of this is a new initiative launched by Westminter last year which allows drivers to pay for parking via text message or mobile phone if they want to use 440 bays in Covent Garden or Soho, as well as in Harrow Road and Queen's Park.

Drivers call an automated service, giving their registration number and a four-digit number identifying their parking bay. They can pay for up to four hours, at up to £4 an hour.

They also pay a small administration charge plus 10p extra if they want a text message warning them when their time expires.

Parking attendants check whether payments have been made via handheld computers.

Income collected from parking meters in Westminster is used to fund transport initiatives across the borough.

For more information please contact Oliver Finegold at Westminster City Council Communications Department on 020 7641 2259.

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Notes to editors:

How much is in a typical parking meter? £50- £70 How has the money been taken from the meters?

The gangs use angle grinders and pipe cutters to slice through meter posts and remove the heads.

The cash boxes are then taken away and smashed open behind closed doors.

What action is Westminster City Council taking?

* Working with the Met Police Safer Neighbourhoods Teams for extra vigilance in the parking meter ‘hotspots’. * Ensuring our streetstaff City ‘Guardians’ are aware about the issue.

For more information on parking in Westminster log on to: http://www.westminster.gov.uk/transportandstreets/parking

For more information on the arrests please contact Bernadette Ford at the Metropolitan Police press office on 020 7321 9056.