Thomas Breen photo
Asst. Chief Jacobson: Fines work better than arrests.
The mayor and top city cops have proposed increasing fines for illegal dirt bike and ATV riding from $99 to upwards of $2,000 per offense, as part of a broader revamp of a law designed to deter loud, reckless speeding along city streets, parks, and sidewalks.
Mayor Justin Elicker joined Police Chief Otoniel Reyes and Assistant Police Chief Karl Jacobson Monday afternoon on the second floor of City Hall for a press conference about the newly proposed ordinance update.
If passed by the Board of Alders, the ordinance amendment would allow the city to issue tickets worth up to $1,000 for first-time offenders caught illegally riding dirt bikes, ATVs, or other “motorized recreational vehicles” on any public property within city limits. That includes streets, sidewalks, parks, and playgrounds.
The fines would jump to $1,500 for second-time offenders, and then to $2,000 for all subsequent such violations.
That maximum proposed fine represents a 2,000 percent increase above the current maximum of $99. The proposed amendment would also allow the city to issue such fines without first filing for a criminal arrest warrant and sending the person caught to court. And it would explicitly empower local police officers to seize such illegally used “motorized recreational vehicles” without first going through the judicial system.
The new proposed fines are the maximum allowed by state law for illegal dirt bike and ATV riding.
“Every resident, every senior crossing the street, every child playing in the street deserves a safe city,” Elicker (pictured) said.
The mayor said the issue of illegal dirt bike and ATV riding is “one of the most frequent complaints I get in every single neighborhood” in the city, and that this proposed law change is designed to deter such activity by, in part, ramping up the financial consequences.
“It’s simple math,” Reyes said about the steeper fines enabled by the proposed law. “It puts stronger teeth to the consequences. If people know they’re going to pay a significant amount” for coming to New Haven to ride illegally, then they are less likely to come in the first place.
Click here and here to read the proposed new ordinance in full. The mayor has submitted the proposed amendment to the Board of Alders as a communication. It will next be heard by a Board of Alders committee before the full board issues any changes and takes a final vote.
The proposed amendment doesn’t focus its fines on dirt bike and ATV riders alone. It also creates a new $100 fine for any gas station owner or employee who sells gasoline to dirt bike or ATV riders. And it creates another new $100 fine for dirt bike or ATV dealers who do not post a copy of the city’s “motorized recreational vehicle” ordinance at their places of business.
All local gas stations must also post signs at their places of business that note that providing gas to such vehicles is prohibited. If dealers or gas stations violate these provisions of the proposed law, they would get a warning from the city for a first offense, to be followed by $100 citations for subsequent violations.
A dozen dirt bikes and ATVs seized by city police in May.
Jacobson said that the city has seized roughly 15 to 20 illegally used dirt bikes and ATVs so far this year. (Click here to read about one such incident that led to 12 vehicle seizures and nine arrests.)
He also said the city usually sees roughly 75 people illegally riding dirt bikes and ATVs throughout the city on any given Sunday in the warmer months.
The assistant chief said that the proposed law update “gives us more tools” by reinforcing local police officers’ authority to seize such vehicles and issue $1,000 to $2,000 tickets without first sending an alleged offender to court.
Jacobson said shifting the consequences from the court system is a deliberate move designed to deter dangerous behavior without plunging more young people into the criminal justice system.
“We’re not looking to put everybody in jail,” he said.
And, he added, “a penalty of $1,000 is actually a lot more severe than a charge we would give them.” He said the city usually charges people caught illegally riding dirt bikes and ATVs in the city with a misdemeanor that, for first-time offenders, often translates into accelerated rehabilitation (AR) after going through the courts.
Jacobson said that this proposed law would lead to fewer arrests for illegal dirt bike riding — and instead to much steeper fines for such activity. If people do not or cannot pay the $1,000 to $2,000 fines, he said, the city will hold onto the illegal bikes. He said the current maximum $99 ticket is simply not an adequate deterrent to illegal riding.
“We do not engage in pursuits in New Haven,” Reyes (pictured) said. “And oftentimes, these individuals who are engaging in reckless behavior want to be pursued” and are “taunting the police.” He said the proposed law change represents a creative potential solution to deterring people from riding in New Haven. He also said that many of the people who currently ride illegally in New Haven come from throughout the state to the Elm City to ride.
“The goal is to get the behavior to stop,” Elicker said. “What we’ve been doing so far has had some success, but it’s been limited success.”
“We don’t want people to do this activity in New Haven.”
Click here to read a June 17 letter sent by Jacobson to the Board of Alders that outlines key changes included in the amendment. And click on the video below to watch Monday’s presser.