Toll Of Commuting: Some Passaic crossing guards can now write parking tickets
The city has four crossing guards as parking enforcement officers, with the goal of eventually training all of them.
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Parking patrol in Passaic has some new faces authorized to hand out tickets - city crossing guards trained as parking enforcement officers. It is part of a new program that began this school year.
“I want to be clear - our crossing guards haven’t become police officers," said Mayor Hector Lora. "They now are empowered with the ability to enforce laws, but they will work together with our police department.”
“It’s not power," said crossing guard Angelique Valle. "It’s like a privilege that can be revoked at any time.”
This is Valle’s fourth year as a crossing guard. This summer, she completed two weeks of training and is a parking enforcement officer. She says cars parked too close to the crosswalk reduce visibility, causing crashes. Now, she can write the ticket.
“This is serious, but sometimes there are more things going on," said Valle. "If I can solve the problem myself, it is better than bothering when [police are] busy.”
"Sometimes the interactions would get a little heated because they weren’t viewing our crossing guards as having the enforcement authority to do anything about the directives they were giving," said Lora. "That has changed in the city of Passaic.”
The city has four crossing guards as parking enforcement officers, with the goal of eventually training all of them.
“That crossing guard has control of that intersection," said Passaic Police Captain Patrick Burnett. "That is as much authority as a police officer has. Please, for the safety of our children, our crossing guards, and the motoring public, please respect that stop sign.”
