LAPD to crack down on street takeovers by impounding even spectators' cars

Spend any time on car-related social media and you’re bound to get fed a street takeover video by the algorithms. The illicit gatherings have an instantly recognizable formula: a large crowd of people amassed on public roads to watch cars drift around in circles. Now, the Los Angeles Police Department has announced it will crack down on takeovers by impounding the cars of those involved — and of spectators. 

In Southern California takeovers (or if you’re from NorCal, sideshows) have been going on for years. Some participants block off traffic with vehicles, letting others enter a makeshift arena where they proceed to perform burnouts, donuts and drifts, often with unintentionally disastrous results. The cars are typically powerful rear-wheel-drive machines like the Ford Mustang, Nissan 350Z, Infiniti G35, and various iterations of the Dodge Charger and Challenger. The most viral videos show cars crashing into curbs, other cars and sometimes people.

Over time the participants have gotten more brazen, sometimes performing their stunts in the presence of law enforcement. The drivers and spectators often overwhelm the police by sheer numbers, rendering them unable to pursue lawbreakers without injuring others. 

Not only have the number of takeovers increased, but related crime has as well. According to Fox 11, the LAPD announcement comes on the heels of a takeover that expanded into the looting of a nearby 7-Eleven.

“We really want to stop this from becoming a new trend where they think they can show up and take over a street, freeway or any part of the city,” said LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno at a press conference August 18. The LAPD says it will adopt a “zero tolerance policy” and intends to impound any vehicle participating in or attending a takeover for up to 30 days.

The move echoes the stance taken in the 1990s, when widespread street racing dominated the headlines. Eventually, police began citing spectators, not just the racers themselves, and ticketing cars for modifications.

Takeovers are a bit different, though, as the cars participating require very little modification. Spectators also take a much more active role in the revelry, by jumping into the paths of cars or making mischief by tossing fireworks or, inexplicably, shining disorienting lasers at the drivers. 

In recent months, Los Angeles has had to temporarily shut down its new 6th Street bridge because of similar activities, and the city of Compton has installed Botts Dots at popular intersections in a futile attempt to dissuade drifting.

Det. Moreno said, according to Fox 11,  that on a typical weekend LAPD would impound five to 10 cars, but that the new measures will almost certainly increase that number. “Cars will start disappearing really soon,” he warned.