University Police implemented a policy to install a boot to immobilize vehicles if the owner’s account has five or more outstanding parking fines.

Craig Jaccuzzo, director of University Police, said that the purpose of the policy is to enforce the parking policies of the University on repeat offenders who do not follow the parking guidelines on campus. He explained that the policy will prevent violators from accumulating extensive amounts of debt for citations while also allowing for parking problems to be resolved within a reasonable time frame.

“Our ticket machines are programmed to let us know how many tickets any person has through their parking decal,” Jaccuzzo said.

Students have the option to do community service for up to two tickets a year. The citation is waived after three hours of community service are completed for each ticket.

“I was getting students who had 12 to 15 tickets and their accounts were getting so outrageous in dollar amounts that the student would actually sink in fees before they could even pay for tuition,” Jaccuzzo said. “I don’t want it to get out of hand like that so, if you owe five tickets, you’re not leaving Nicholls until you come to the police department and settle it.”

Jaccuzzo said that the late fees are often part of the problem.

“After 14 days, you get a late fee on citations and the charge doubles,” Jaccuzzo said.

Officers will place an orange notification on the vehicle with five or more outstanding fines to make sure that the individual knows the car has been immobilized.

“The color of the boot is also bright so that you can notice it,” Jaccuzzo said.

Once a vehicle is immobilized with a boot, owners will be responsible for a $100 charge for the first offense, $150 for the second offense, and $200 for the third offense. If the owner of an immobilized vehicle does not report to Parking Services within five days, the vehicle will be towed. The charge is also used as a removal fee.

“This is the first step that I see, to keep students from sinking into debt,” Jaccuzzo said. “I do not receive any of the money that is generated through parking services. We have a budget and I have to justify anything that I want for my department.”

He said that not many universities are immobilizing vehicles, but he believes the boots are a better solution than towing.

“We’re kind of ahead of the game,” Jaccuzzo said. “Towing is not the best option because the vehicle leaves campus. With this system, your vehicle is still on campus, but it forces you to come to our department to settle the issue.”