Jacksonville, Florida — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s office says 36 people have been arrested in connection to illegal street racing. Many local drivers have voiced complaints to JSO over the recent months regarding extremely unsafe street racers on highways and neighborhoods.
Assistant Chief Jaime Eason says a long-term JSO operation has so far issued 631 citations, including tickets given as warnings and ones requiring payments. A total of $92,510 in traffic fines has been collected so far.
In addition to the arrests and citations, JSO has impounded 13 vehicles related to illegal street racing and has taken away 7 firearms. The number of drugs and narcotics also found was undisclosed, however, Eason says, “seven firearms and narcotics - neither one of those is ever, you know, going to lead to good things.”
“We’ve seen a drastic reduction in street racing and illegal car meet-ups, activities, and we’ll continue to monitor this and conduct these deployments,” Eason says.
By using intelligence gathering, monitoring social media, and partnering with the Florida Highway Patrol, roughly 50 JSO squad cars were able to surround a huge street racing ring in a parking lot off of Lem Turner in recent months. According to Eason, officers swarmed hundreds of spectators and drivers, issuing over 200 citations and arresting several people that night.
“That - That got their attention,” she says.
Illegal street racing includes activities like high-speed competitive driving, drifting, and burnouts, where a vehicle spins in a circle and leaves marks on the street.
Eason explains that many of the tickets issued on busts are given to spectators because it breaks the law to be present for illegal events, even if you are not recording the event. Additionally, she says that passengers of racing vehicles can also get citations.
And when it comes to the drivers, Eason explains, “if in fact, we do try to commit a traffic stop on you, and you flee - you’ve then went from a misdemeanor of racing to a felony.”
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