Female student caught using fake parking decal

Campus police has had approximately seven cases dealing with counterfeit decals this academic year. The most recent case took place Feb. 4.

At 1:19 a.m., Traffic Enforcer Andrew McDowell was checking decals in Lot C when he discovered a decal in a vehicle that did not match the vehicles assigned permit.

He said the decal was a dark color and didn't look legitimate.

McDowell said he reported his discovery to the police office.

"After we called in and found out it wasn't a legitimate decal, we booted a female student's car and issued a citation for a counterfeit decal," McDowell said.

Norman Johnson, interim parking manager, said the student [using the fake decal] was fined $250 that included the citation and boot fee.

He said the female student told officers she created a fake decal so she could park closer to her classes.

Campus police would not provide the name of the female student to the Argus reporter.

According to the Regulations Governing Motor Vehicle Parking, students who use false decals will lose their parking privileges on campus for one year.

Johnson said the student was referred to Judicial Affairs.

Deona Cureton, director of student conduct, said the severity of the offense depends on whether the student has to have an administrative hearing or a student conduct counseling hearing.

A student conduct counseling hearing is for cases that could result in expulsion.

Cureton said if the cost of the decal is low then Judicial Affairs will have an administrative hearing and if the student is found guilty then he or she will be put on disciplinary probation.

"Depending on the severity of the infraction will determine if probation is just for a semester, a year or the remaining of [the student's] tenure."

Cureton said students also have to pay restitution to cam- pus police for the actual decal amount.

For example if a student made five $250 counterfeit decals, he or she would have to pay $1,250 back to campus police.

Students are given certain amount of time to pay restitution.

She said when students need more time to pay she usually works with them on an installment plan or until they get their refund checks.

"If the student does not pay and doesn't come by and ask for an extension I will put a hold on the student's account and possibly deactivate their

Ram Card." She said students may also

have to do community service or work in conjunction with campus police.

"If a person does not complete a sanction on time or does not complete it at all they will also be cited with a failure to comply, which is another violation," Cureton said.

"In this case our traffic officers have been trained to know what type of decals to look for and what type of details to look for and that way you can tell if it's a fake or a real one."

Johnson said the decals are changed every year to prevent forgery.