According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Enter and retrieve information pertaining to vehicle registration, identification, and status, using hand-held computers. | 86% |
| Patrol an assigned area by vehicle or on foot to ensure public compliance with existing parking ordinance. | 85% |
| Write warnings and citations for illegally parked vehicles. | 85% |
| Appear in court at hearings regarding contested traffic citations. | 84% |
| Maintain assigned equipment and supplies, such as hand-held citation computers, citation books, rain gear, tire-marking chalk, and street cones. | 83% |
| Respond to and make radio dispatch calls regarding parking violations and complaints. | 83% |
| Maintain close communications with dispatching personnel, using two-way radios or cell phones. | 83% |
| Perform simple vehicle maintenance procedures, such as checking oil and gas, and report mechanical problems to supervisors. | 82% |
| Observe and report hazardous conditions, such as missing traffic signals or signs, and street markings that need to be repainted. | 81% |
| Identify vehicles in violation of parking codes, checking with dispatchers when necessary to confirm identities or to determine whether vehicles need to be booted or towed. | 81% |
| Train new or temporary staff. | 80% |
| Mark tires of parked vehicles with chalk and record time of marking, and return at regular intervals to ensure that parking time limits are not exceeded. | 78% |
| Locate lost, stolen, and counterfeit parking permits, and take necessary enforcement action. | 78% |
| Make arrangements for illegally parked or abandoned vehicles to be towed, and direct tow-truck drivers to the correct vehicles. | 77% |
| Investigate and answer complaints regarding contested parking citations, determining their validity and routing them appropriately. | 76% |
| Provide information to the public regarding parking regulations and facilities, and the location of streets, buildings and points of interest. | 76% |
| Collect coins deposited in meters. | 74% |
| Prepare and maintain required records, including logs of parking enforcement activities, and records of contested citations. | 73% |
| Wind parking meter clocks. | 70% |
| Provide assistance to motorists needing help with problems, such as flat tires, keys locked in cars, or dead batteries. | 69% |
| Assign and review the work of subordinates. | 69% |
| Perform traffic control duties such as setting up barricades and temporary signs, placing bags on parking meters to limit their use, or directing traffic. | 67% |
| Remove handbills within patrol areas. | 62% |
