Smile, you’re getting a ticket!

STROVOLOS traffic wardens have been taking photos of vehicles they have ticketed so as to back up their actions in a dispute, it emerged yesterday.

A journalist from Politis newspaper found out the hard way that traffic wardens working for Strovolos Municipality regularly take a photo of any illegally-parked vehicle they have ticketed – but not of the vehicle’s driver or passengers.

The photo is then saved in an archive that has been specially set up for the purpose. If the vehicle-owner makes an objection or asks for an explanation, the municipality’s Traffic Warden Department can then present the photo to justify its actions.

If the vehicle-owner refuses to pay the parking penalty and the matter goes to court, then the photo is presented as evidence. According to the Traffic Warden Department official Michalis Avgousti, the photos are held in the archive until the fine is paid, and then destroyed.

Avgousti said that the idea for the photos belonged to Strovolos Mayor Savvas Eliofotou, who thought of it when cameras were first installed at traffic-lights in Cyprus, about two years ago. He said that the first photo was taken in October 2007, and since then the taking of photos has become part of traffic wardens’ official duties.

When contacted by Politis, Personal Data Commissioner Youla Frangou reportedly said that she had not previously been informed of the practice by Strovolos Municipality, and described it as “over the top”. She said that her office would be writing immediately to Strovolos Council to ask for an explanation.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.