PROVIDENCE – Providence Police Chief Hugh T. Clements pledged to take a “surgical” approach to cracking down on illegal all-terrain vehicles in a press conference on Thursday.
While winter weather has kept ATV riders at bay, law enforcement officials expect to see them back on city streets this spring and summer and are planning accordingly.
The loud, dangerous and illegal vehicles have plagued Providence for years. The longstanding problem escalated last summer after a series of violent incidents involving ATVs, including one in which a woman was dragged from her car and brutally beaten after honking at a group of riders. One person was arrested and charged with assault and disorderly conduct from that incident, news outlets have reported. It’s unclear if other riders involved in that attack were ever found or arrested.
In the wake of that attack and ensuing public outcry, Providence Police turned to new strategies that helped take 30 ATVs off the streets in two weeks – versus the 200 that had been seized over the previous two years.
Clements said Thursday that police will use many of those same tactics again this year, preferring a “surgical” approach over one of all-out aggression to catch riders by surprise.
“We know that poses a greater risk to our own officers,” he said of an aggressive approach. “We are becoming more surgical in our approach, mixing and matching what works for us.”
Similar to last summer, Providence will partner with R.I. State Police and Cranston Police to double down on enforcement and share resources.
Asked about how staffing shortages might affect police officers’ ability to find and chase these quick and elusive groups of riders, Clements acknowledged that there is a “finite number of resources.”
However, he also said the city can do a lot with even a few, part-time officers, pointing to the department’s special response unit, or SWAT team, as an example of how a small group can have a big impact.
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza also said the city is making funding and staffing for its police department a priority. Other ideas Elorza floated in years past, such as creating a designated space for riders to take their ATVs legally, have taken a back seat, at least for now. The city has also pulled back from legislation that would stop gas stations from selling fuel to ATV riders due to legal concerns, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare.
ATVs and other recreational vehicles have been prohibited from city streets since 2015. The Providence City Council in 2017 passed an ordinance authorizing police to seize and confiscate illegal ATVs and dirt bikes.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com. Follow her on Twitter at @NancyKLavin.
