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    Senior Member Ratbstard's Avatar
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    San Rafael police loosen city's vehicle impound policy

    San Rafael police loosen city's vehicle impound policy for six-month trial period
    marinij.com
    By Jessica Bernstein-Wax
    Marin Independent Journal
    Posted: 09/12/2011 05:24:14 PM PDT

    The San Rafael Police Department announced Monday that it will change its vehicle impound policies for unlicensed drivers for a six-month trial period after community groups complained the city's practices were too harsh.

    The changes, effective Friday, mean unlicensed drivers will still face the same criminal penalties as before but may now avoid thousands of dollars in impound fees and possibly the loss of their cars.

    "I am making a measured adjustment as to when and for how long we impound a vehicle under (state vehicle code)," interim San Rafael police Chief Jeff Franzini said in a statement. "My hope is that this change will address some of the community hardship concerns about the high costs and the long waiting period (30 days) before a vehicle may be released, while still enforcing the law and protecting the public."

    The Marin Organizing Committee and members of the Comite de Vecinos del Canal, or the Neighbors of the Canal Committee, and the Youth Concilio have pushed San Rafael officials to change the city's 30-day impound policy, saying the rules unfairly target undocumented immigrants, who can't obtain drivers' licenses under California law.

    California's vehicle code says cars seized from unlicensed or suspended drivers will be impounded for 30 days. However, cities around the state, including San Francisco and Berkeley, have adopted their own interpretations of the code. San Francisco, for example, won't impound a vehicle if a licensed driver comes to pick it up within 20 minutes.

    In Novato, police have the vehicles towed rather than impounded, and a licensed driver can generally pick up the car that day or the next day, thus minimizing storage costs, Cpl. Nick Frey said earlier this year.

    The Canal groups had asked San Rafael officials to give unlicensed drivers 20 minutes to contact a licensed friend or family member who could pick up the vehicle. If no one arrives in that time frame, the vehicle should only be seized for one day rather than 30, they have said.

    Meanwhile, the Marin Organizing Committee has asked San Rafael to hold unlicensed drivers' vehicles for 24 hours — rather than impound them for 30 days.

    Under the changes the police department announced Monday, officers may release an unlicensed motorist's vehicle to a licensed adult present at the time of the traffic stop or DUI checkpoint. That person could either be present in the vehicle, on the street or summoned by phone, Franzini said.

    "There are some agencies that have put time limits on that — we are not doing that," he said. "Some nights are slower than others and based on what's going on, we want to give the officer more discretion."

    First-time offenders whose vehicles are impounded will no longer need to wait 30 days and may simply reclaim their cars so long as they "provide proof of insurance, current registration, have a validly licensed driver with them to pick up the car, and pay all applicable fees," police said in a statement.

    Motorists with prior offenses for driving without a license will still need to wait 30 days to get their cars out of impound.

    Franzini noted that many of the agencies that have loosened their impound policies have done so in the past six months to a year, and therefore only limited data are available — making the trial period a good option for San Rafael.

    "That's much more reasonable," Roberto Hernandez, a member of the Vecinos del Canal committee, said of the policy change. Hernandez noted that there's hope the modifications will become permanent, particularly after a yearlong trial that halted vehicle towing on street-sweeping days in the Canal neighborhood resulted in an indefinite policy change in January.

    Meredith Parnell, a spokeswoman for the organizing committee and Congregation Rodef Sholom, called the changes "a small but significant step."

    "This is a good start, and there's more work to come, but we're very encouraged by this as a step in the right direction," she said.

    Earlier this year, Lt. Glenn McElderry noted that unlicensed drivers with suspended licenses are "overly represented in vehicle collisions."

    In addition to having completed drivers' education, licensed drivers also go through vision tests, prove they can actually operate a vehicle and learn the rules of the road, he said.

    Contact Jessica Bernstein-Wax at jbernstein-wax@marinij.com

    http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_18880167
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  2. #2
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    Why do they keep giving Illegals free passes On laws that AMERICAN CITIZENS are FORCED to abide by !!!!

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