In many places where illegal parking is common, tow truck drivers stage close by or hire spotters so they can hook up cars quickly. They can make a lot of money hauling away cars from drivers who only plan to stop for 2 minutes.
> Owners need not ever be arrested or convicted of a crime for their cash, cars, or even real estate to be taken away permanently by the government. The government does not have to charge the property owner with any specific crime in order to seize the property, and must prove only by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is legally forfeitable. After property has been seized, the burden of proof shifts to the owner, who must prove that the property was not involved in nor obtained as a result of illegal activity [1]
The cops are far worse than some corrupt tow truck drivers. You have a fighting chance against a private company, but you'll rarely win fighting city hall.
> This seems like stuff that should never be privatized or under non-police control.
I lived in a city that had it's own towing department. One evening, I parked in a spot that turned into a tow zone the following data at 7am. The next morning, I got to my care at 6:58am, and a tow truck was parked right in front of me with the driver enjoying a coffee. I quickly hopped into my car, put the key in the ignition, turned it, and....nothing. My battery was dead.
I got out, walked up to the tow truck driver and explained the situation. He backed up his truck, got out the cables, gave me a jump start, and I was on my way. I always wondered if a private service with possibly different incentives would have done the same.
Assuming police are charging to get your car back then it would probably be quite the profit center for them to enforce in that situation. I would be more concerned about them over enforcing parking infractions as a matter of dept policy, than I would be of parking infractions being ignored.
"We don't have staff so let's pay some other company to lend us staff to do it, for more money that would cost to hire the staff (because their boss needs to earn the living too)"
I live in a neighborhood with impacted parking that’s poorly served by the local government. People keep parking in front of my driveway and blocking me in. If I call the cops they ignore me. If I call the tow company they come and tow away the offending car. Is this bad?
Suppose someone decided my front yard is a good place to store their belongings and dropped a shed there. Should I be able to hire movers to dispose of the shed? Or the police should be my only recourse?
I share the feeling that towing companies can be abusive and that’s not right. I think a better response is to regulate the towing companies and provide remedies. For example, make abusive towing practices illegal with heavy penalties (eg. if they tow illegally, they owe you $1000 per day you lose access to your vehicle). If it’s unfair to tow a vehicle after two minutes, make that illegal.
> If I call the cops they ignore me. If I call the tow company they come and tow away the offending car. Is this bad?
Yes. Here in Poland they'd get ticketed at the very least. It's easy money for them, pads their stats, and actually helps people. If it is somewhere where it blocks traffic (whether to house, pedestrians or otherwise) it would most likely also be towed. The company is contracted by city but they just do the towing, not law enforcement.
They even park/hide the picked car closeby to come & pick another one. Parking the car out of their own place is illegal, but it goes like other things.
https://nyti.ms/3xW9OQX