Residents whose vehicles end up being towed after being stolen will no longer have to pay the towing fees, effective Feb. 1, Mayor Brandon Scott announced Thursday.
Auto theft victims “have enough to deal with after a vehicle has been stolen, and we hope that this updated policy will provide victims some relief by not subjecting them to inequitable and unjust fines,” Scott said during a press conference.
Baltimore City government will take on the nearly $250,000 in annual towing fees for stolen vehicles in Baltimore, Scott said.
“We are picking up this tab because it’s the right thing to do, plainly put,” he said. “$130 is a lot of money to someone who’s already down on their luck.”
Historically, residents who did not pick up their stolen vehicle within 48 hours of being notified that it has been recovered were charged storage fees at the towing facility, according to Baltimore City Department of Transportation Director Steve Sharkey.
Under the new policy, residents whose vehicles are stolen will have all towing fees waived once they provide a police report, Sharkey said.
“Before this change, in addition to the shock of having their vehicle stolen, losing a major investment and not having transportation to school or work, residents were faced with paying towing fees when trying to retrieve their vehicle, which was an extra burden,” he said.
Baltimore City Councilman Ryan Dorsey (District 3) said towing fees will add “insult to injury no more” for victims of auto theft.
Dorsey said one of his constituents had his vehicle stolen and reported it missing. The vehicle was recovered in Washington, D.C. 24 hours later, but it had racked up a dozen tickets in Baltimore before reaching DC.
The constituent had to pay for the police report on his stolen vehicle, and to navigate a cumbersome process to get the fees waived.
Now, residents can contact DOT’s parking enforcement division with a copy of their police report to waive any citations incurred while the vehicle was stolen, Sharkey said.
Residents will still have to pay any pre-existing citations that are not associated with the theft, he added.
Dorsey said the city is working to have the cost of a police report for a stolen vehicle waived as well.
Dorsey said Councilwoman Odette Ramos (District 14) and Councilman James Torrence (District 7), who were also at Thursday’s press conference, came to him with similar stories from their own constituents. Together, they worked with other city officials to update the policy.
“This is a collaborative effort to say that we have simple policy changes that can improve the quality of life for people, that we can make without hesitation,” Dorsey said.
The new policy is part of an action plan to improve Baltimore that the mayor’s office released in December.
