Politics & Government
City Looks to Impound Cars Used for Prostitution, Drug Crimes
A proposed ordinance coming before the Bradenton City Council this week would impose a $500 penalty to have the impounded vehicles returned to their owners.
The city of Bradenton is considering an ordinance that would allow police to impound vehicles used to commit prostitution or drug crimes.
The city actually has such an ordinance, No. 2583, on the books, but hasn't utilized it in the past five years because of various court rulings. Now a similar new ordinance is slated to come before the city council for readoption.
Ordinance No. 2949 would allow Bradenton Police to tow any vehicle used to facilitate crimes such as prostitution or found to be containing a controlled substance, according to city documents.
Find out what's happening in Bradentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Car owners would have to pay a $500 penalty, plus towing and storage costs, to have their vehicles returned.
The ordinance is scheduled to come before the city council for a first reading at Tuesday's meeting.
Find out what's happening in Bradentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The council meets at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 8, at City Hall.
Do you think the ordinance is fair? Will it cut down on prostitution and drug crimes in Bradenton? Post a comment below.
Sign up for the Bradenton Patch email newsletter to get our top headlines delivered straight to your inbox so you won't miss a thing!
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
