City officials are now saying a D.C. law that allows for the arrest of drivers who have expired vehicle plates should be revised after lobbying efforts from surrounding jurisdictions has turned a spotlight on the practice. Mayor Vincent Gray said he plans to conduct a review to consider an alternative punishment like impounding vehicles that are not registered.
“I agree that imprisonment may be perceived as quite harsh for this type of violation,” he said in a letter to Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, who originally raised the issue with Gray.
The Metropolitan Police Department also appears to be throwing it into reverse on the issue. Chief Cathy Lanier wrote in an email to The Washington Examiner on Friday that she agreed the policy of arresting drivers who have expired plates needs to be revised. Police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump had previously said the police were simply following the law and if the city council wanted to review the policy, those elected officials should be the ones to “determine whether to amend it.”
Crump said on Friday the department was not backtracking on the issue, but neither she nor Lanier responded to requests for additional comment.
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown said he has spoken with Gray and Lanier about the arrests. He plans to hold hearings on the practice and fast-track legislation to amend the law.
Driving with plates that have been expired for more than 30 days is an arrestable offense in the District, but officers are also allowed to merely issue a citation, as is done in surrounding jurisdictions. According to estimates by the police union and AAA Mid-Atlantic, between 100 and 300 people per year are arrested in the District for the offense.
The issue surfaced this month when Webb wrote Gray on behalf of a naval officer constituent of his who had been arrested. AAA also lobbied the city, noting D.C. police regularly make arrests of such drivers where they are not committing any other infractions.
Persons guilty of driving with expired plates can spend up to 30 days in jail. But officers cite the law as a valuable crime-fighting tool, noting that it allows for traffic stops that can often lead to arrests on bigger charges.
“Both Gray and Brown have caved to outside pressure,” said police union President Kristopher Baumann, an administration critic. “Where were the two of them when hundreds of non-politically connected residents were being arrested?”
