Policies to avoid impounding vehicles are worth exploring

Impounding vehicles can be a powerful deterrent against the practice of driving without a license. It also can be a nightmare for families who've lost the use of a car because of a relative's poor choices.

Therefore, if it's possible for local law enforcement agencies to adjust their policies from automatically impounding vehicles of unlicensed drivers to allowing families to avoid the costly and complicated process of retrieving a vehicle, it's worth exploring.

This is what Santa Rosa Police Chief Tom Schwedhelm and Steve Freitas, Sonoma County's sheriff-elect, say they're planning in light of policy adjustments in other cities.

As Staff Writer Julie Johnson reported Tuesday, the San Francisco Police Department now allows its officers to give unlicensed drivers a chance to call and have a licensed friend or relative, perhaps even the car's owner, to come and retrieve the vehicle - as long as the individual can get there within 20 minutes. Police in Berkeley are encouraged to have vehicles towed to a safe location but not to have them impounded, allowing a licensed driver to pick it up the next day.

Police agencies are heading in this direction after re-examining state law and out of concern about the staff time invested in the seizing vehicles. There also are concerns how effective it has been in keeping unlicensed drivers off the road.

Either of these systems would be an improvement over the current zero-tolerance policy that Sonoma County law enforcement agencies employ.

Currently, cars driven by unlicensed drivers are automatically impounded for 30 days. The owners then have to pay for the cost of towing and storing the vehicles, which can be as much as $2,000.

Critics, including Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, contend this unfairly burdens poor immigrant families.

Law enforcement officials shouldn't abandon the practice of confiscating vehicles. But giving officers some discretion, as well as giving families a break, is well-advised.

California legislators also can help by showing some political courage and coming up with a system that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain a valid driver's license or state I.D. card. The fact is that California depends heavily on immigrant labor to make its economy go. It needs to figure out a way that these laborers can legally get around, without the constant risk of having their cars seized.