Today I was made aware from KPD Officer Jason Short that removing the chalk that the parking enforcement officers put on a parked vehicle’s tires is a class b felony. I was given a piece of paper, pictures below, with the applicable RSA.
A class b felony in New Hampshire is a crime for which the maximum penalty, exclusive of fine, is imprisonment in excess of one year but not in excess of 7 years. Examples of other class b felonies include: an aggravated DWI causing a collision resulting in serious bodily injury, robbery (involving force or threat of force), (some) theft, second degree assault (knowingly or recklessly causing serious bodily injury to another). Should the removal of chalk be included in this list?
The logic appears to be that an investigation is being initiated when the chalk is applied to the tires. By removing the chalk, a person is interfering with the investigation by destroying evidence. I don’t feel that removing some chalk warrants such a charge since there is no damage done to the property by the removal, a true investigation by a parking enforcer would gather more data (license plate number, the exact time, a picture of the car, make/model, etc), and it is possible that a vehicle could move to another spot and still have the chalk on the tire and be ticketed.
In my opinion, this reaction by the city of Keene is the first real evidence that Robin Hood of Keene is having a significant impact helping the general public keep their money for doing something that should not be considered a violation (parking their cars).
The paper I was given:
