Are there fines attached to most crimes? Also, I don't think we want private citizens risking their lives or exaggerating details to get the rewards on a crime.

"Also, I don't think we want private citizens risking their lives or exaggerating details to get the rewards on a crime."

That's exactly what they're doing with this fumes law.

Many summary offense crimes have fines and/or a few days in jail as the punishment. The courts usually give the fine without jail in most cases. These are things like driving infractions, noise complaints, minor graffiti, leaving your car idle (separate from the commercial law), jaywalking, etc.

But if they are making all this money, why not expand the courts and hire more meter maids to do this work? As you bring up, they would likely be better suited to collet the evidence and it sounds like the courts can't handle the citation volume at the current levels.