The 2011-2012 Ventura County Grand Jury (Grand Jury) initiated this investigation into vehicle impound costs in Ventura County (County) based on newspaper articles alleging abusive fees charged by Los Angeles County’s City of Bell. This report focuses on the fees charged by the cities and agencies of the County to reimburse administrative costs related to driving without a driver’s license, driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license, or driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Vehicles are towed and impounded when a driver has been found by law enforcement agencies to be driving without a valid driver’s license or to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. High costs may be incurred by the driver/owner when recovering a vehicle from impound. People with lower incomes may find it difficult or impossible to pay the cost of vehicle recovery. This may lead to loss of the vehicle through confiscation and sale by the impounding company.

The Grand Jury requested information with respect to impound fees, procedures, and policies from the Ventura County Sheriff (Sheriff), the ten cities in the County (Cities), and the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The Grand Jury also reviewed California law and performed internet searches for newspaper articles related to the vehicle impound process.

The Grand Jury found that there was no evidence that the Sheriff or any of the Cities, with the exception of the City of Thousand Oaks (Thousand Oaks), were collecting funds beyond the allowable administrative costs related to the removal, impound, storage, or release of the vehicles. Even when recovery fees reached the $300 level, as identified in a September 5, 2010 Los Angeles Times (Times) article titled “Impounded cars boost Bell’s coffers,” the fees were justified and in compliance with Vehicle Code section 22850.5.

In the case of Thousand Oaks, the inclusion of an offset cost for the Thousand Oaks’ “Start Smart” driving classes in a vehicle release fee conflicts with the requirements of Vehicle Code section 22850.5, subdivision (a).

The Grand Jury found that all Cities passed resolutions authorizing the collection of the fees required for release of a vehicle from impound. However, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors (Board of Supervisors) has not passed a resolution to cover vehicle release fees in the unincorporated areas of the County.

The Grand Jury also found that there is no countywide standardized list of allowable categories for impound costs used as the basis for calculating vehicle release fees. Some cities base fees on costs that are incurred after a traffic stop transitions to the impound process—traffic citation issued or arrest effected and request for tow initiated—and ends with the vehicle release paperwork. Other cities and the Sheriff collect fees based only on the cost of paperwork generated at the end of the impound process. These disparities contribute to a wide range of County vehicle release fees from a low of $11 for unincorporated areas of the County to a high of $300 for Thousand Oaks. The wide range of fees contributes to a public perception that Cities charging higher fees may be profiting from impounds as implied by the Times article about the City of Bell.

The Grand Jury recommends that County law enforcement agencies meet and identify a standard set of tasks, labor hours and overhead items to cover the administrative costs of vehicle release fees. The Grand Jury further recommends that the Cities and the Board of Supervisors use the standardized cost categories to calculate their individual vehicle release fees. The Grand Jury recommends that Thousand Oaks review the legal basis for including an offset fee for their “Start Smart” driving classes in any vehicle release fee. Finally, the Grand Jury recommends that the Board of Supervisors pass a resolution to collect vehicle release fees for the unincorporated areas of the County.

Go to the Grand Jury website to review the entire report http://grandjury.countyofventura.org