Blue Badge thefts more than double in 12 months, LGA says

According to the LGA, thefts rose from 656 in 2013 to 1,756 in 2014 – a rise of 167%.

The Association also reported that 565 offenders were prosecuted by local authorities for Blue Badge fraud in 2014.

Examples of recent prosecutions included:

• A Watford man admitting to using his grandmother's Blue Badge to park illegally for four months after her death. He was prosecuted during Operation Clamp – a joint crackdown initiative by Watford Borough Council and Hertfordshire Police.
• Five drivers receiving a combined bill of nearly £2,000 in fines and costs following prosecution for fraudulent use of Blue Badges by Sutton Council. Three of the badges belonged to close relatives, another driver had used a lost badge and another had belonged to a deceased relative.

Some local authorities have meanwhile set up specific enforcement teams to tackle the issue.

Since setting up a Blue Badge enforcement team in April 2014, Wigan Council has issued 100 warning letters, four formal cautions, had one successful prosecution and 90 badges have been confiscated and destroyed. The council has also created an online reporting tool for people to report Blue Badge abuse.

Cllr Peter Box, LGA Transport Spokesman, said: "Illegally using a Blue Badge is not a victimless crime. For disabled people, Blue Badges are absolutely essential in order to get out and about to visit shops or family and friends.

"Callous Blue Badge thieves and unscrupulous fraudsters using them illegally are robbing disabled people of this independence. It is staggering how low some people are stooping simply to con a few hours of free parking and alarming to see thefts rising so significantly.”

Cllr Box added: "Despite limited resources, councils will continue trying to crackdown on this crime and will not hesitate to prosecute drivers trying to abuse the system.

"It is important to catch these criminals in the act. To win the fight against Blue Badge fraud, residents must keep tipping councils off about people they suspect are illegally using a badge."