Providence Mayor Brett Smiley has introduced a new initiative to tackle illegal ATV activity in the city. As of April 5, the city has dedicated a police team to investigating and seizing the vehicles.
The team is made up of five police officers who will be responsible for investigating and seizing ATVs, and charging those who drive them.
“These vehicles are unsafe for the riders, they degrade the quality of life in our neighborhoods. They’re bad for business. And they’re bad for our city’s reputation,” said Smiley.
Illegal ATV usage has long plagued the city. Late last month, a group of 25 to 30 ATV drivers surrounded two Providence Police officers, in a reportedly tense stand-off. In 2021, ATV drivers pulled a woman out of her car and beat her – in front of an 8-year-old child.
Because of incidents like these, the city’s new chief of police, Col. Oscar Perez, said it’s best to nip the problem in the bud, by seizing the vehicles before they hit the streets.
Addressing the room in both English and Spanish – a first for a Providence police chief – Perez said the officers assigned to the newly coined Community Response Team will target criminal activity related to ATV usage through undercover investigation. The team will seek to identify ATV owners by tracking down who is selling the vehicles and the fuel.
Perez and Smiley also said their officers plan to use social media to identify owners, and are calling on community members for help. They’re asking residents to give information on illegal ATV activity by dialing a new tipline, 401-680-TATV, or by sending an email to atvtips@providenceri.gov.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the local chapter of Black Lives Matter released a statement condemning these tactics as “intrusive surveillance techniques.” The groups also criticized the mayor’s plan to criminalize all ATV and dirt bike usage within the city limits.
“Seeking ways to criminalize ATV and dirt bike use – and utilizing expansive surveillance techniques to do so – are deeply troubling methods to pursue this laudable goal,” the statement read. “We know that turning civil traffic offenses into criminal ones in this context will disproportionately affect young people and Black and Brown neighborhoods, have a severely discriminatory impact, and undermine the critical need for greater equity in the criminal justice system.”
The pushback is not unexpected. This initiative is the mayor’s first high-profile effort to make good on his “back to basics” campaign pledge, in which he promised to tackle the key issues that irk residents.
Smiley says this test will cost the city nothing extra, but added the police department and the city can allocate more money from the current budget if needed.
“We think that this is a priority for the community. And particularly at this time of year, as we know that there’s seasonality to this activity,” said Smiley.
The mayor also said the program could give back to the city. He says there’s a chance the police department will be able to sell the seized vehicles.
The post A newly created police team will seek to crack down on ATV usage in Providence appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.