City Council Takes Tougher Stand on Hit and Run Drivers

By City News Service

The Los Angeles City Council struck a tougher stance on hit-and-run drivers today, approving a set of committee recommendations that include harsher penalties and requiring more data from police.

The council approved the recommendations from its Public Safety Committee in a 12-0 vote.

The changes include requiring Los Angeles police to enter hit-and-run cases in its COMPSTAT database. Police reports will now be required on all hit- and-runs, including cases involving property damage only.

Hit-and-runs also will be separated into injury, noninjury and property- damage-only categories. Officers will log the number of cases that have been solved and filed with city or county prosecutors.

Police are also being asked crack down on drivers with unregistered vehicles and increase their use of identification verification technology in the field.

Committee recommendations include supporting of legislation for stiffer penalties, including license revocation, vehicle forfeiture, a restriction on the frequency of civil compromises in hit-and-runs and making hit-and-runs a serious offense on par with DUIs.

Councilman Mitch Englander said the changes would "help put a dent in this major quality of life issue facing our residents," adding that he was "tired of approving a number of rewards for hit-and-run crimes in this City Council."

An LAPD representative said the department logged about 14,000 hit-and- run cases since the beginning of the year.

A bill by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, that increases the statute of limitations for hit-and-runs from three to six years was approved by the Legislature this week and is awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown's signature.