Complaints to Parking Enforcement
Anonymous complaints that your operable vehicles are abandoned

Tools of the Trade
Constant complaints to Parking Enforcement. Anonymous complaints to Parking Enforcement in the many cities that accept them is a common and effective tool used by spiteful neighbors as well as by any and all contractors and real estate agents who seek to profit off of new development in or gentrification of a neighborhood.

Countermeasures
Document it.

• Public disclosure requests. If your locale has a public disclosure request process, make requests for disclosure of the complaints, including complainant names, if you can get them. Public documents showing the names of your harassers may be your best evidence should you intend to fight the harassment. Even if you cannot get the names, a large volume of complaints against the same plate numbers of vehicles that are legally parked goes a long way towards demonstrating that you are living in a state of harassment. In some cities the best way to call some attention to your situation could be to use the public disclosure request system. These are often tracked and reviewed.
  
• Photography. Photography, both still image and video from security DVR, can be useful tools to document each event if they are dated in a manner that is likely to be acceptable in a court of law. If your tires are constantly chalked and you believe you are being targeted, photograph the marks. Caution: Check your lease and all applicable law before installing cameras or other recording equipment on your rented property or building. Your lease may not allow you to affix anything to the building and violating the terms of your lease may resulting in losing your home. Violating privacy or wire-tapping laws could get you arrested. Make sure you are in compliance with all applicable law.
  

Complain.

• Write letters to local and regional officials. Depending on how your city is governed and what politics are in play, consider writing the mayor, the city council, civil rights officials, the city attorney, Parking Enforcement, and so on,  If you track the dates when your tires are chalked or  your car is red-tagged or otherwise marked to warn that towing is imminent, include the dates of the actions taken against you in the complaints.
• Propose changes in the policies on accepting anonymous complaints from chronic complainers. Harassing people by submitting complaint after complaint about their legally parked vehicles costs taxpayers money and there are lots of ethical and fiscal reasons why it should not be permitted. Not to mention the fact that policies allowing unlimited anonymous complaints about a single vehicle draw the city into the harassment of a citizen and may constitute the uneven enforcement of city codes and biased policing. This is unconscionable. There should be a limit.
  

Check your tires. To document a pattern of harassment you will need to check your tires every day and check to ensure you understand the policies on how the warnings are given. If you're being harassed by a chronic complainer, it's possible that the city will only chalk your vehicle and will stop ticketing it after the first couple of times, especially if you establish contact with them and attempt to work with them on the situation. But you can't count on Parking Enforcement to be sympathetic. Parking Enforcement is usually part of the police department and may be subject to biased enforcement of the law.

• Chalk marks. Some Parking Enforcement officers seem to prefer to hide their marks, for example, on rear tires. Note that this is a practice you should probably challenge since it seems intended to trick rather than to simply track or warn. There's no good reason for a municipality to try to trick its citizens and it's arguably unethical.
• "Red tags" or stickers warning that the vehicle is abandoned and will be towed. You will also have to watch for "red tags" or whatever tickets warn that your vehicle has been deemed abandoned. Make sure you know how long you have before your vehicle will be towed. If you don't find information on the ticket or tag about when the vehicle will be towed, the reason for the attempt to tow, and a phone number to call for further information, call the city to learn more. Don't move the vehicle until you photograph its position and capture the sticker in the frame. Keep the ticket. It's good written documentation. Move the vehicle before the date and time at which the vehicle is to be towed. Protect your interests by showing compliance with the law.

Document that you move and drive the car. This can be your best defense if you are constantly tagged when you park in front of your house, for example.

• Odometer. Unfortunately, even in situations of chronic complaints where harassment is relatively clear, Parking Enforcement may not consult the odometer until after they receive a complaint. This means that you may constantly have the stress of being the only person on your street whose tires are constantly chalked. Just the same, your odometer is ultimately your best proof that you comply with the laws governing parking in your city and should hopefully mitigate the count of red tags you get on your car. If you're fighting chronic complaints and have a broken odometer, you need to get it fixed. In many cities, though the code is not strictly enforced, the law mandates that you have a working odometer. Fixing a broken odometer is not always that expensive. The odometers of some vehicles fail in predictable ways and, if you're lucky, you can replace a $20 gear in the odometer instead of replacing the dash panel. For some vehicles, the instructions on how to make the most common fix and the part that most commonly fails can easily be found using an Internet search engine.
• Photography. If the months pass and you're still being chalked, you might consider some street-side art in your car windows. This technique works as follows: When you're out doing errands, find one of those digital clocks along the road, stop your car in front of it and take a photograph that shows both the time on the digital clock and your plate number. When you re-park your car at home, print out and post this memento of your journeys in your window. Narration is always a nice touch; something like "Daisy does dry-cleaning" will do. If you don't think your art work will be appreciated in your neighborhood, consider sending a dated digital image file of Daisy's journeys to your local Parking Enforcement unit when your vehicle is chalked. They probably won't stop chalking you, but they'll be on notice that you challenge their acting on the complaints against you that have by now been shown to be chronic and invalid. You have rights and have a reason to be upset if the city continues to respond to false complaints about the operable vehicles that you regularly drive. The city's acceptance of continual anonymous complaints arguably denies you the opportunity to pursue a legal claim that could force your harassers to respect your rights under your lease and under the law.
  

Establish a relationship with Parking Enforcement. If you are working with a Parking Enforcement unit in a city that does not tolerate city services being used to harass and you suspect that those harassing you are making the marks themselves, call Parking Enforcement to verify that the marks were made in response to a complaint or check any documents you've received based on your public disclosure requests to determine which marks were directly tied to documented complaints from those outside of the Parking Enforcement department. The most accurate way to track or attempt to tie tire marks with complaints may be to make a public disclosure request after each time your tires are chalked when it is clear that you have been subject to a pattern of harassing complaints. This may antagonize city officials, but if no one is listening you may need to work harder to draw some attention to your situation anyway. Some watchdog agencies review public disclosure requests, their volume, and the responses they receive. This means that by submitting requests one-by-one to match a high volume of chronic complaints, you could draw attention to a legitimate problem in local government.

Do not discount the possibility of complaints made internally in a manner that is hidden, especially if your neighborhood includes city employees or people with connections to city administration and police.