Just like in many US cities, kids and adults riding on ATVs and dirt bikes have run amok, making the streets of Toledo, Ohio far more lawless. Since the vehicles are small, agile, and fairly quick, they often prove difficult to effectively track. But police in the area have combined forces with a solution we’ve seen before, just not for this particular problem.
As covered originally by local news station WTOL11, Toledo Police Department is leaning on Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Aviation Division to track the small off-roaders from up above. Once the suspect stops and is off the vehicle, police on the ground can move in and make an arrest, avoiding a pursuit.
Just like what’s covered in the local news report, a lot of damage and harm can be done by kids or adults speeding around on dirt bikes and ATVs. For example, a five-year-old girl was mowed over by a fourteen-year-old on one, injuring her badly enough to be hospitalized.
The natural progression of this thing, as we’ve seen in so many other cities, is eventually the kids are recruited by organized crime rings to perform robberies. The small vehicles are great for quick getaways since they’re harder to track and pursue.
That’s why it’s great law enforcement isn’t waiting for the issue to progress to that point. There might be some incidents already that we didn’t find, but at least it’s not become a full-blown problem, yet.
Part of the reason why Toledo Police Department hasn’t been able to effectively combat the ATV and dirt bike problem is a highly restrictive pursuit policy. While the intention of the policy likely was good, the result has been more lawless behavior, we can’t help but wonder if it needs to be tweaked at least some?
In the meantime, this new strategy appears to be effective.
Image via WTOL11/YouTube
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