Changing slightly to a very related topic, I have been very anxious to discuss but never had the right opportunity. This bumped thread is perfect.
I have seen a few cars (mainly in Kensington, but that was just because I worked there and that’s where I was during the daytime,) displaying a book on their dashboard with the symbol of the NYPD. The book 100% saved them from getting parking tickets. So much so, that they took advantage of it by parking on the wrong side by alternate-side parking, and parking all day in metered spots without ever buying a single muni-meter receipt. I don’t know if it would also allow them to commit worse crimes, like parking at a hydrant, no standing, or bus-stop.
As far as I can tell, these soft-covered books are training manuals for the traffic cops, who are not really Police Officers. (Unlike policemen that go through Police Academy for a long time, the Traffic Cops are civilians that just take a short course and immediately are authorized to issue tickets. Although they drive cars that look like police cars, and wear similar uniforms, they are what used to be called “Brownies” and basically just there to give parking tickets and nothing else.)
I don’t know how to get these books, but it looks like a simple thing to fake. It is just a plain white paper book, 8-1/2 X 11, with the symbol of the NYPD and a title. I have seen the symbol in both color and black-and-white, on both spiral-bound and glued books.
I pictures of some them, though I don’t know where they are right now. One of the drivers once came out of a store and saw me looking at his book (through the windshield, without touching his car) while he was parked illegally, and got really angry at me. With that attitude, I figure he must be related to a cop, if not one himself!