Sheffield parking: Police crackdown on bad parking extended after 900 drivers face action

A police crackdown on bad parking in Sheffield has been extended after action was taken against 900 drivers.

Operation Park Safe, targeting drivers who park dangerously and inconsiderately on the city's roads, was initially launched as a trial by the Sheffield North West Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) in June 2022.

Between then and December 2023, South Yorkshire Police said, a total of 1,054 reports were received from members of the public.

The force told The Star that 900 of those had resulted in 'prosecution action', which included a fixed penalty notice being issued or the motorist being required to attend a 'careless driving course'.

What parking offences have people been prosecuted for?

Those reports included 371 for dangerous parking, including outside schools; 488 for obstructive parking, including on pavements; and 41 for parking on zig zags, for example at crossings.

There were four further reports of obstructive parking which was classified as minor, where advice and a warning was given.

Police also received 142 reports where it was found no offence had been committed, and eight reports which fell outside of the area where the scheme was being trialled, with those who made the reports being advised accordingly.

Following the scheme's success in the north west of the city, it is now being rolled out to the south east.

How can you report bad parking to police?

Sheffield South East NPT announced on Tuesday, February 6 that it was 'now trialling the expansion of Operation Park Safe following its success in the north west of Sheffield'.

It added: "Operation Park Safe provides members of the community with an easy way to report local parking offences that police deal with via an online form."

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Operation Park Safe was launced by South Yorkshire Police after members of the public named bad parking as a key priority they wanted police to tackle.

If it proves as successful in the south east of Sheffield as it has in the north west of the city, it could be rolled out more widely across South Yorkshire.

To find out more about the initiative and how to report a suspected parking offence, visit: https://southyorkshire.police.uk/media/11653/operation-park-safe.pdf.