Todd Treweek’s had a bad week. As the Herald reported on Wednesday, the Dunedin chef’s just been busted for his tenth parking offence.

What’s notable about Todd’s offending is that it’s victimless. Indeed, his infringement is a form of self-abuse. His favourite parking place is in front of his own garage, so he’s only blocking himself in. And in doing so, he’s freeing parking spaces up for others.

The price of Todd taking one for the team? Well, he estimates that the dreaded parking wardens have now punished him with $1000 in fines.

As a fellow resident of a crowded inner-city cul-de-sac, I’m only too familiar with Todd’s predicament. Purposely parking in front of my own garage brings pure delight.

It’s not just that it’s a crime with no victim, but it’s also doing a public service by giving my garage-deprived neighbours an additional place to park.

Rarely is there an opportunity for such a clear-cut win-win. It’s an economist’s dream: I have a reserved parking place, and my neighbours have more choice elsewhere in the street.

If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. As both Todd and I have found, parking in front of your own garage gives the parking-police a free hit.

And they won’t be discouraged. Pop down to the street after a tip-off from a friendly neighbour and point out that it’s your own garage, that you consent to the infringement, and that it’s in the public interest, and it falls on deaf ears. The wardens redefine relentless.

Taking things to the top doesn’t help either. “The law is quite clear. You can’t park over any driveway, including your own”, responded the Council’s Parking Warden Team Leader, Daphne Griffen.

If Ms Griffen is right, the law is an ass. But is it that clear cut? Even parking wardens have a prosecutorial discretion. Maybe it’s time they chose to use it.

Civil society depends on respect for the law. Our parking police have never had a great press. Policing victimless crimes will hardly improve their esteem.

Perhaps it’s time for the Todd Treweeks of this world to receive a few parking pardons.

Self-abuse may be banned in the Bible, but surely this is one time where we don’t need to be protected from ourselves? In any case, after suffering his tenth ticket, it’s clearly not Todd who’s the jerk.