After the announcement this week that the Springfield Police Department will begin enforcing an ordinance on the books since 1981 concerning vehicles left running and unattended, there were lots of negative comments on social media.
Someone asked, “is this a joke?” Others questioned whether this is a ploy by the police department to bring in new revenue.
But department spokesperson Lt. Grant Dorrell said the motive behind deciding to enforce Ordinance 106-33 is simply this: to reduce the number of vehicle thefts in Springfield, which have been increasing in recent years.
"We're not in the money making business as a police department. The bottom line is if we don't have to take one of these reports --I hope we don't have to issue one ticket because that would mean everybody's going to comply with this, which is exactly what our goal is," said Dorrell.
There were 1,648 vehicle thefts in the city last year—an increase of 396 over 2015, and in 40 percent of the cases last year, the car was left running and unattended or unlocked with the key inside.
"Some of these car thieves are just looking for an easy opportunity, and it doesn't get much easier than a car sitting there idling in a driveway," Dorrell said.
According to Dorrell, officers will be reminded that the ordinance is on the books and to keep an eye out for violators, but it certainly “won’t be their sole purpose on any shift.” He said officers might decide to issue a warning to those in violation, but those who are ticketed will be required to go to court. The maximum punishment is $1000.
Dorrell said those who start their vehicle with a secure remote start won’t be cited.
Vehicle thefts are already significantly up this year. There were 180 vehicle thefts in January compared to 78 in January last year.
