Counterfeits, photocopies: Toronto police crack down on accessible parking permit fraud
Under a scorching sun in a Scarborough parking lot, parking enforcement officer Mike Murphy is moving car-to-car in the row closest to the mall entrance, working to ensure the accessible spots are occupied by the people who need them most.
“This one is expired, from September 2022,” he says, pointing to a permit on the dash of a Buick.
On another car: “Nope, no permit.”
A bright blue wheelchair logo is painted on the pavement and the “by permit only” sign is clear. Murphy pulls out his ticket printer, logs the licence plate, and tucks a $450 fine under the wiper.
It’s part of his hunt for drivers trying to scam the system—some who are misusing the accessible permits of a friend or family member, others who have illegal photocopies or even fakes.
“People will make scam copies of them and sell them for $300-500 a piece,” Murphy said. “Because people who park in the city, to them it’s worth it.”
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
In Toronto the permits are worth their weight in gold to the people who medically require them. A valid permit exempts the holder, or the person driving them, from many signed prohibited parking areas, on-street permit parking areas, and signed and unsigned parking limits.
“A lot of people figure, I can photocopy it, throw it on my dash, and I’ll be fine,” Murphy said. But if caught, the fines can range up to $5,000.
Toronto officers seized 509 accessible parking permits for investigation of misuse last year, issuing 59 cautions and laying 438 Highway Traffic Act charges.
Recently, Murphy said, he’s noticed a spike in construction workers using borrowed permits to park illegally downtown near their work sites.
Food delivery drivers, he added, are often caught parking in accessible spots while running into a mall or restaurant to pick up orders, thinking they will be in and out quickly.
Toronto police crack down on drivers in accessible parking spots in this file photo. (Natalie Johnson/CTV News Toronto)
As Murphy was examining the validity of permits on parked cars at the Agincourt mall Wednesday, a young woman pulled up in a Ford Fusion, parked her car in the accessible spot closest to the Burger King, and went inside.
With no document on the dash, Murphy began logging a ticket; she returned to the car and attempted to drive away, confirming she didn’t have a permit.
“Ok, it will be mailed to you and it will cost you more,” Murphy said to her through the open window. She stopped and took the fine.
“A $450 ticket,” he said. “Just for wanting to go into Burger King.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.