Aurora police say they’ve towed and impounded at least 193 vehicles under a new “three-strikes” law targeting drivers pulled over without a license, registration or insurance.
A majority of Aurora’s City Council signed off on the law in September, with supporters arguing that confiscating the cars of drivers caught without any of the three documents was about protecting others on the road.
“I’m a broken-windows kind of person in terms of criminal justice, and I believe that if you don’t get the small stuff, it turns into bigger stuff,” Mayor Mike Coffman said during a Sept. 23 council meeting. “There are a lot of people driving around with expired tags, they don’t have a valid license, and (they) don’t have insurance. And so I hope this sends a strong message.”
Police spokesman Joe Moylan wrote in an email that 193 vehicles were towed from Nov. 1 through Dec. 5 under the law, which took effect at the end of October.
Defendants have 30 days to bring valid registration and proof of insurance to the impound lot with either a driver’s license or another licensed driver to retrieve their vehicle.
They can also hire a tow truck to take it somewhere else as long as they can provide proof that they own the vehicle, City Attorney Pete Schulte told the council.
Defendants will be expected to pay for the towing and impoundment of their vehicles. Council members who opposed the new law questioned whether racking up impound fees would be an obstacle to people getting any of the documents or ever retrieving their cars.
“There’s probably many reasons why people don’t have a version of one of the three,” Councilmember Crystal Murillo said Sept. 23.
“That doesn’t change the fact that they don’t have it, but if cost is an issue, then the cost is just going to keep piling up, and they’re never going to be able to pay for insurance, registration, et cetera.”
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Aurora police are required by law to impound vehicles if the three criteria are met unless there are “emergency or exigent circumstances,” with Schulte citing dangerous weather as an example.
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