Massive Sweep by Police Nets Stolen Vehicles, Illegal Drivers

In the largest such action ever, Los Angeles police Saturday fanned out across the San Fernando Valley for an all-day roundup of abandoned and unregistered cars and unlicensed drivers.

Starting about 7 a.m., the 150 officers engaged in Operation ALERT/Crush were deployed throughout the Valley, although they concentrated on parts of Pacoima, North Hollywood, Van Nuys and Reseda.

By early evening they had netted 746 abandoned and unregistered vehicles, including 36 that had been stolen, Police Sgt. Dennis Zine said.

Police also arrested 39 motorists, most of them for not having a valid driver’s license.

Five drivers were arrested on suspicion of grand theft because they were driving stolen vehicles. Hundreds of others driving cars with registrations that had expired for more than a year were cited and released.

Zine said unlicensed drivers and those whose licenses have been suspended are responsible for a majority of the thousands of hit-and-run accidents that occur in the Valley each year.

Saturday’s effort concentrated on “specific areas where we have a high incidence of hit-and-run accidents,” Zine said.

The goal of the crackdown on abandoned vehicles and scofflaw motorists was “to address the continual complaints from the community . . . about the eyesores and trash that they deal with on a daily basis,” Cmdr. Rick Dinse said at a midday news conference in Pacoima. “The people are tired of it.”

The city Department of Transportation in August began tagging abandoned cars that had been the subject of complaints from residents.

Dinse said about 2,000 automobiles had been slapped with the neon stickers, which warned owners that the vehicles would be towed if left curbside for more than 72 hours.

“This is the result of repeated public warnings,” Zine said at Saturday’s news conference. “This is the final chapter, as we say.”