The “crowd” has been used for a variety of things in the startup world lately. There are startups utilizing the crowd to find the best restaurants, events, websites, and even parking spaces.

We got the chance to talk with Berlin startup ParkTag in May during TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013. Their company uses the crowd, or rather a peer-to-peer platform, to help people police themselves and find parking spots.

Now we’ve heard about Canadian startup SpotSquad that is using the crowd to snitch on people who are illegally parked. Of course it’s frustrating to find someone double parked outside the mall or the local WalMart. It can even be frustrating seeing someone with a nice car, and two perfectly working legs, park in a handicapped parking spot.

SpotSquad, developed by a 10 person team in Winnipeg Canada, is an app that allows vigilantes with a smartphone to report people who are illegally parked. What’s in it for these good Samaritans? Well, according to the Daily Mail, the people  who report these traffic violators will receive a portion of the fines collected.

How does it work?

The DailyMail reports that users with the SpotSquad app installed will take a picture of the violating car. The picture is then tagged with a GPS location. The reporter then assigns the picture a violation, and it’s uploaded to authorities. The reporter and SpotSquad will get a portion of the fee collected. As reporters report more and more violators, their cut of the fees will increase and their ranking will increase within the system from Private to General.

The company plans to begin a beta test of the app next month in Winnipeg.

Find out more here at SpotSquad’s website

This Canadian startup has a new way to display brands for marketers.