By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
Providence is making a renewed push to crack down on the proliferation of illegal all-terrain vehicles, while the American Civil Liberties Union Rhode Island affiliate and others are raising objections to city plans to use video surveillance and other means.
Mayor Brett Smiley outlined his plans on Wednesday, saying the police had already begun deploying a five-member community response team to track and seize ATVs, calling it a top priority for him and the police department.
“We’re going to be proactive and take an investigative approach so that we can grab them before they head out and commit real resources to it,” Smiley said in a news conference at his City Hall office.
Smiley and police Chief Oscar Perez said four officers and a sergeant have already begun to prevent what they called “illegal activity and reckless behavior on our roadways”.
Listening to the mayor’s news conference and responding afterward, Jeremy Costa, co-founder of the riders’ group “BikeLife Lives Matter” took issue with Smiley’s approach.
“Nothing (Smiley said) was actually a solution. It was all criminalization. It was all targeting,” Costa said. He said he plans to meet next Monday with the mayor and other riders to present plans to find space to ride in the city.
Hours later, the ACLU of Rhode Island and Black Lives Matter PAC issued a joint statement, raising concerns about the crackdown:
“Our organizations share the City’s goal of creating a safe environment for all residents, but 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. 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.
They mayor urged residents to use an existing ATV tip line: 401-680-TATV (8288) and email ATVtips@providenceri.gov to report illegal ATVs.
