Title
Street Racing Update
Description
This report provides the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee with information regarding street racing activities occurring in the City during the summer months.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
During the summer months, the Police Department has continued to see a large presence of street racing activity occur throughout the City. Activity, which had previously been concentrated in west Phoenix, has since spread to other cities across the valley.
Street racing activities continue to consist of large groups of pedestrians and vehicles overtaking busy intersections where high risk driving maneuvers are performed in the intersections with pedestrians watching and cheering on. Street racing groups have also forced entry into and taken over large warehouses to conduct this activity and to hold large parties. These events often end with some type of violence, sometimes involving firearms. Additionally, street racing groups have conducted “flash mob” style shopliftings of alcohol, food and other merchandise at convenience stores within the City.
While there are incidents of street racing that occur throughout the week, Sunday nights continue to be when most of the organized events occur. This activity does generate a high volume of calls to the 911 system and to the non-emergency crime stop lines. There have been several incidents of reported injuries along with several videos portraying incidents that appear to have caused injuries that have not been reported.
The Maryvale Estrella Mountain Precinct continues to head up a task force comprised of officers from all seven precincts, along with support from the Traffic and Tactical Support Bureaus to conduct enforcement efforts. The task force has also formed mutual aid partnerships with all the surrounding cities that are impacted by these events.
Since the task force began enforcement efforts in late November 2019, nearly 2,100 total citations have been issued. Of those more than 1,100 have involved criminal charges and approximately 350 have been for racing and reckless driving. Additionally,153 subjects have been booked into jail.
Summary of Legislation
This past legislative session, SB 1659: racing on highways; assessment; impoundment (Senator Paul Boyer) was introduced. The bill would have required a peace officer to cause the removal and either immobilization or impoundment of a vehicle if the person driving the vehicle is in violation of reckless driving or racing on highways. Furthermore, it specified that a person who knowingly aids or abets another person in reckless driving is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor, unless a subsequent violation is committed within 24 months, then the person is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor. The bill would have also established the Drag Racing Prevention Enforcement Fund (Fund) consisting of monies collected from a $1,000 fine or violations of racing on highways. The Fund would have been administered by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). GOHS was authorized to distribute monies from the fund to local law enforcement agencies to help prevent racing on streets and highways in Arizona.
SB 1659 passed out of the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee on Feb. 12, 2020. The bill failed to pass out of the Senate Rules Committee as some members had concerns about the approach.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr., City Manager Ed Zuercher and the Police Department and Office of Government Relations.