No duplicates
Hologram helps track counterfeit permits
By Melanie Branaert
Senior Editor
Making a counterfeit parking permit
wouldn’t seem that difficult.
All a person would need is a computer, a
good artwork software program and a color
printer.
Right?
Wrong.
For anyone at the University of Nebraska
Lincoln or other Big Eight institutions, it is
becoming much harder to duplicate a parking
permit — and get away with it.
Dan Hartman, assistant manager at
Kinko’s, 1201 Q St., said only a professional
printer could create a die-cut — the cut-out at
the top of UNL’s permits that allows them to
be hung from rear-view mirrors.
And because the permit reads “nontrans
ferablc,” he said, Kinko’s or any other print
shop would need permission from the
university to duplicate the permit.
If given copyright permission, employees
then would try to determine if it were
fraudulent, Hartman said.
“This is one of the red flags that comes up
when you get approached at the counter to
make these sorts of copies,” he said. “We
would explain to the customer that the reason
why we wouldn’t reproduce this because it’s
a certificate. It’s the type of thing that we
wouldn’t be able to do.”
Hartman said it also would be almost
impossible to duplicate a permit with a
hologram.
“If we put it in gold and put it on a copier,
it would actually turn out black on a color
copier,” he said. “Or it will say something
like copy’ across it. They (Parking Services)
have done different things to aid in (prevent
ing) making copies of it.”
‘Not worth doing’
And that’s exactly what UNL’s Parking
Manager Tad McDowell has attempted to do.
The addition of a hologram to this year’s
permits — the “One” on the “Number One
Nebraska” slogan — has helped bring down
the number of counterfeit permits, McDowell
said.
i
During the 1994-95 school year, Parking
Services reported having 60 false permits,
which included those with dates altered and
lost or stolen permits. So far this year, the
department has received about 30.
The majority of tickets for duplicated and
stolen permits have been issued to students,
McDowell said, but there are a few faculty
and staff violators.
“These individuals make it hard for
everyone else,” he said. “They’re not paying
to park.”
McDowell said he had seen sloppy
versions, near-perfect ones, and everything in
between. Most of them are copied, cut-and
pastc duplicates that are noticeable, he said.
“What seems perfect to the creator may
look sloppy to us,” McDowell said. “The
slightest mistake they make we can pick up
on.
“It’s not worth doing.”
Parking Services plans to improve the
design of next year’s permits and further
discourage permit duplication by adding
some kind of security area, McDowell said.
Other Big Eight schools already have
caught on with the trend of adding holograms
or holographic stickers to parking permits. - ■
Consequently, the number of counterfeit
permits has dropped to a point where most
have fewer than 15 a year.
Some Big Eight schools, such as Iowa
State, Kansas State and Kansas, use a system
similar to vehicle registration with license
plates. Permit holders are given a multiple
year permit; a renewal holographic sticker is
placed on the permit.
This type of system has been very effec
tive, according to Duane Archer, director of
parking services at Kansas State. Permit
holders there are issued the same number for
several years.
“It keeps tracking of the permit a lot easier
because we know they have the same num
ber,” he said.
Iowa State places a holographic sticker on
the rear-view window, along with the hang
tag permit, said Connie Colic, ISU’s parking
manager.
“it’s a unique type of hologram,” she said.
“Those (stickers) self-destruct when they peel
off if they try to move them from vehicle to
vehicle.”
Colie said the sticker, which is light
sensitive, prevented anyone from duplicating
the permit flawlessly because the colors used
for the sticker didn’t reflect.
The University of Kansas has a slightly
different system. Five-year permits are issued,
with hang-tags that have gold foil in the
design and a holographic validation sticker.
Oklahoma State University also uses a silver
foil dot placed diagonally on the hang-tag.
Donna Hultine, assistant director of
parking at KU, said the stickers had different
colors, but the holographic material featured
a pattern.
“It might be crosses or diamonds repeat
ing,” she said.
The gold foil, which would turn black if
copied on a color printer, and the stickers on
the plastic rectangular permits have been
effective, Hultine said. Since they switched to
those items and the hang-tag style, she said,
they have had fewer than five violations a
year.
Stiff penalties
Those who duplicate permits at UNL will
face stiff penalties, McDowell said. Such
people lace a $100 fine, and their vehicles are
impounded. They also lose parking privileges
for the rest of the academic year, he said. The
incident is then reported to the Student
Judicial Affairs office.
Linda Schwartzkopf, director of Student
Judicial A Hairs at UNL, said students could
face a number of sanctions if caught with a
fake permit. Those sanctions range from
receiving a warning from the university or
conduct probation to a suspension or expul
sion, she said.
Several things arc taken into consideration
when determining proper sanctions,
Schwartzkopf said, such as whether a student
had prior conduct violations.
She said those with clean conduct records
probably would receive a warning or proba
tion for a semester or a year, serving commu
nity service hours at Parking Services or
elsewhere at the university.
W nne
% Impoundment of vehicle. Incident reported to dean
of students for disciplinary review.
Kansas
% $50 fine
% Impoundment of vehicle. Incident reported to KU
Police Department.
Kansas State
% $60 fine
H> Wheel lock or boot placed on vehicle. Vehicle
towed after 24 hours. Parking privileges may be
suspended if permit isn't returned.
Missouri
% $50 fine
# Possible impoundment of vehicle.
Nebraska
% $100 fine
% Impoundment of vehicle. Loss of parking privileges
for rest of academic year. Incident reported to
student judiciary affairs.
Oklahoma
% $59 fine
Oklahoma State
% $40 fine
# Wheel lock placed on vehicle. Vehicle towed after
7 p.m. Possible revocation of parking privilege.
_$30 citation for parking without valid permit.
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