On the average, ten percent of the issued citations go to court with nearly all cases successfully defended by the specialist. Indivudals wishing to become a parking enforcement specialist must complete an application and be interviewed by the program coordinator. A police background check is completed and the individual is placed on a schedule list for the certification course. The course is a mandated 45-hour certification training course conducted by the Criminal Justice Institute. Individuals are taught to correctly write a citation and how to professionally and effectively deal with the public.
Safety is the first and foremost concern.
The specialist is assigned a uniform, police identification and a citation book, and are given their patrol boundaries, and asked to patrol an average of 20 hours per month. The Disability Services staff coordinator works closely with a representative from each of the police stations to ensure that station procedures are carried out by the specialist. Meetings are held at least once a month at each station to review procedures and events in the course of patrol. Last year 5,200 parking citations were issued, with a total of 12,000 citations issued over the last three years. Through this effort, persons with disabilities are afforded greater access to these disability parking spaces.