Police are no longer pulling cars over solely for expired license plates after a policy temporarily reinstating low-level traffic stops ended on Thursday, August 15. The temporary policy looks to have been effective, however, with over 30 percent more Denver residents renewing their license plates from July 15 to August 15 in comparison to months before.
From May 15 to June 14, around 31,000 Denver County residents renewed their vehicle registrations, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. From June 14 to July 14, that number was about the same, DOR numbers show. But once the Denver Police Department began enforcing license plate violations on July 15, more than 42,000 Denver County residents renewed their expired tags while the policy lasted.
From July 15 to August 15, the DPD issued more than 400 citations for expired license plates, according to the Denver County Court.
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas says he was happy with the outcome. He hoped that more Denver motorists would register their vehicles without risking tickets, or worse. According to Thomas, the policy wasn't changed so officers could write more citations.
"It wasn't really the intent to increase enforcement," Thomas says. "It was just an opportunity to educate folks and get people to pay their registrations, recognize that there could be a penalty."
In May, th DPD adopted a policy reducing low-level traffic stops. Thomas says the decision to reverse course for a month and increase enforcement was in response to complaints from residents that came up during town halls held by Mayor Mike Johnston and in community advisory board meetings hosted by DPD commanders in their districts. Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn had voiced his displeasure over unregistered vehicles, as well.
Thomas says he halted the low-level traffic stops partly because "there was a better use of our time," but mostly because they were disproportionately affecting low-income, Black and Hispanic residents.
"We need to be mindful of disparate impact on some communities when we enforce those kinds of low-level violations," he says. "That was a primary concern for why I established the policy that we did."
Still, Thomas warns drivers that the DPD will continue to issue tickets to parked cars with expired plates. He also notes that other violations and enforcement methods could lead to traffic stops.
"Even though we can't stop someone strictly for the purpose of enforcing those license-plate violations, there are still other suspicious behaviors, characteristics of people and activity that could warrant a stop," Thomas says. "And then you could have enforcement of an expired registration."
Some license plate violations — like missing plates or tags that are months or years past their expiration — can count as suspicious characteristics and justify a traffic stop by a DPD officer, the police chief adds.
"A vehicle having no plates or a vehicle having very stale expired plates is not a low-level thing," Thomas says. "That's a situation where there is a need to stop, investigate further, determine if the vehicle is stolen, [or is] in the possession of the rightful owner"
Some license plate violations — like missing plates or tags that are months or years past their expiration — can count as suspicious characteristics and justify a traffic stop by a DPD officer, the police chief adds.
"A vehicle having no plates or a vehicle having very stale expired plates is not a low-level thing," Thomas says. "That's a situation where there is a need to stop, investigate further, determine if the vehicle is stolen, [or is] in the possession of the rightful owner"
According to Thomas, the DPD didn't receive any complaints about the enforcement of expired vehicle tags. and "there was some appreciation on the part of the community." The policy had "no downside that I can think of," he adds.
Thomas says police will step up enforcement for expired plates again if residents complain, though he doesn't have a time frame in mind. However, he says that anyone thinking of ignoring their expired plates shouldn't get too comfortable.
"The expectation of all Denverites is that they register their vehicles, that they be good neighbors," he says. "I have no timetable on when we'll modify the policy again. I'm sure that it will happen as we pay attention to citizens' complaints."
