Freedom of Information Request (Violation Ticket) - How to?
 

Hi RS,

I had a ticket a while back, Aug 2013, that was disputed, details are:

1) Stopped in traffic at a construction zone in Burnaby
2) Vehicle was still running, although stopped.
3) Took out my GPS to recalculate route of detour as road was fully blocked
4) Officer saw me and issued me a ticket for being on GPS while in car.

Update:
The ticket also states under the counts:

Count 1: Description: Use of Electronic Device While Driving, Act: MV, Section: 220(4), Fine: $167

As you can see it is the wrong description and corresponding Section #

-Now I have no problem with the officer issuing me a ticket, however the offence the officer has given me was incorrect.
-She had issued me a ticket for MVA 220(4) which is seat-belt violation, hence the dispute.
-Received hearing date today for Robson Court in Vancouver

My questions are:
1) Do I access freedom of information from City of Vancouver, or City of Burnaby?
2) How does one access the freedom of information act for a violation ticket? I have done a quick search on City of Vancouver website but cannot seem to understand which section is for traffic stops.
3) The officer took a picture of me on her personal phone, stating if I didn't I would be arrested at the spot, as I refused to let her take a picture on her personal phone of me. (because I have a twin and she wanted to make sure it would be me who showed up to court if it went that far.) Would it in someway be possible to ask for this picture as well (it probably shows me actually wearing my belt if for some reason the ticket isn't already thrown out due to incorrect MVA violation on ticket)


Thanks for all your help in advance.

You had your hearing. Was it simply adjourned over? Was the offence on the ticket corrected at your hearing?

The description of the offence is correct, it's merely the section number thats not so there wouldnt be much grounds for dismissal imo. The correct section would be 214.2(1).

The value of the fine is correct at $167 so what are you trying to do here? Have the ticket dismissed on account of the officer having put the wrong section number down? Or do you plan to plead guilty and pay the fine but want the correct section number noted on your drivers abstract?

1) FOI requests would be done through which ever law enforcement agency issued you the ticket. The city doesn't really have anything to do with it.

2) It takes quite alot of time to get an FOI request processed and might not really be worth it in the end as i'm not sure what information you are trying to obtain which would assist in your case. If you are wishing to proceed in any event i would google "whatever agency issued the ticket" + "freedom of information"

3) I'm not sure on what grounds the officer could/would arrest you for refusing to have your picture taken. Maybe obstruction? In any event officers often times take photos of SOC's so they have a record for their notes. I suppose you could make a written request for disclosure (photo) to the officer but I'm not sure how far that would go. By the way, my guess is that your ticket will not be dismissed simply because the photo shows that you're wearing your belt. The offence you committed is in the description so asking for the photo would be moot imo and a waste of everyone's time.

I would just pay the fine at the next hearing and make sure that its noted on your driver's abstract that the ticket was issued for "MVA s. 214.2(1) Using electronic device while driving" and not for failing to have a seatbelt on.

Bottom line is I think you're wasting everyones time including yours.

He only said he received the hearing date today, not that it WAS today :p

lol colossal reading comprehension fail on my part :concentrate:

whenever your hearing date is go and speak to the JJP. btw, now that i think about it i'm pretty sure the officer can reissue the ticket with the correct section number if you bring it up in court. someone can correct me if i'm wrong.

The incorrect charge section is largely considered to be a "fatal flaw" by most Traffic JJPs. The JJP may allow the officer to ammend the ticket before a trial. There is case-law that allows officers to take photographs of someone being ticketed for identification or evidentiary purposes.

Again, please read that lengthy post that i linked as it explains everything you need to know to fight a ticket. An FOI request is not what you want. What you want is disclosure of evidence.

They will just amend the section number to the correct one, that will not get your ticket cancelled.

Thanks for the info guys.

I would expect with the wrong section on the VT that quality control at the MV Branch would cancel the VT and send it back to the issuing Member. I had that happen occasionally, sometimes just for having the incorrect fine listed on it, let alone the section not matching the description of the offence.

Hey zulutango,

When you state, sent back to the issuing member, does that mean that the ticket will be re-issued with the correct information this time? Or does that mean that the ticket is just canceled or thrown out?

Thanks.

It means the officer would of had to re-issue a new VT to the driver, and the VT centre cancelled the first one.

I got the original white copy mailed back to me with the defect highlighted in yellow and an explanation. It was up to me to issue a correct new VT if I wanted or just do nothing and that was that. End of story. If the offence was serious enough I did track the driver down and serve them a new, correct VT.