Your thoughts on searching vehicles?

[TowZone]

This is from a news article which did not qualify for the headlines. The issue I am having is I am conflicted. Don't get me wrong I am all for assisting authorities and taking these criminals off the street. My issue is where is the line in searching a vehicle. Why would the tow truck driver look inside of a cigarette pack? Is there justification, when that ends up in court is there going to be an issue. I just don't know, though I have heard of tow companies that inventory their police tows. We do a visual checks, we do not search vehicles.

 

------------ START ---------------

 

In the process of having Higgs’ vehicle towed, the tow truck driver found a glass pipe inside a cigarette pack inside the car, according to the statement. Police took the pack and found a black drawstring bag with 0.05 grams of suspected heroin, a trash can with 0.05 grams of suspected heroin, and eight vials with 12.5 grams of suspected crack cocaine.

 

RESOURCE LINK

 

-------------END------------

 

[TTOUT]

When I was working for a light duty tow company, we let the LEO do his inventory and or search then took it to our secured yard. We also did visual inventory to make sure the officer didnt miss anything but we never did a thorough search. After we confirmed the inventory from the officer, we locked the car and proceeded as normal. Occasionally, we would have an LEO come back and want to go through it again, the boss handled those requests as we were busy most of the day/night (700-800 calls per month at the time with AAA and all other calls). If, for some reason, we noticed something illegal in plain view, we would call it in but we didnt ever go through a vehicle unless we had the title and were getting ready for an auction or the scrap yard.

This was the fleet at the time, there are 2 wreckers, a carrier, and our heavy missing from this picture.

[rreschran]

Ron ... I too would ask ... why was the tower going through individual items in a towed car? In all respect to towers, we're not the police, we have no specific training and no authority to conduct any kind of hands-on search for contraband or drugs. Something that's seen in plain view may be reported to the police and it's their responsibility to come and impound the property. When towers conduct their own searches, that only leads to reports of theft and ultimate claims of stolen property, but, also leaves them subject to tampering or destroying evidence. So, consider this; what if the same car was later implicated in a homicide? The tower handled the cigarette pack yet tossed it back into the car. CSI lifts a latent print that comes back not to the person driving the vehicle, but to the tow operator? Somebody's got some explainin' to do. That's a great way to lose a towing contract. This is another great topic for discussion at the next drivers training meeting.     R.

[TowZone]

Randall said: "That's a great way to lose a towing contract."

 

Several companies either have been subject to loss of contract, suspended or removed due to vehicles being tampered with by employees. Some contracts are vague and the company impounding the vehicle actually does a physical inventory when the vehicle arrives at the impound lot. I ask how is that legal without a court order and/or an officer present anywhere in the country.

 

Employees like this are few in this industry, but there are enough reports that brings in question every contact with that vehicle.

[yoBdaBenO]

PPI GUYS have a sense of Entitlement, once they lock onto a vehicle it's like they say. Mine Mine Mine It's all Mine. Now not all drivers are this way but there sure are enough that get the legit tow ops doing PPI a BAD name!

[someotherplace]

On 9/23/2019 at 11:24 PM, yoBdaBenO said:

PPI GUYS have a sense of Entitlement, once they lock onto a vehicle it's like they say. Mine Mine Mine It's all Mine. Now not all drivers are this way but there sure are enough that get the legit tow ops doing PPI a BAD name!

Not sure where in the world you get this attitude from but it's not surprising considering some of the remarks about PPI drivers I've seen here on the forums in the past.

 

If you want to paint all PPI operators with that broad of a brush, you're sadly mistaken.  I've been a PPI operator for 16+ years and wouldn't steal a penny, much less go through someone's car for any reason whatsoever.  MOST of the PPI operators I know are the same, and I know a lot of them.  Yes, there are crooked ones - in the minority - just as there are crooked people in every business.  Period, end of story.

 

Richard

[yoBdaBenO]

Someotherplace, As with Politics sometimes we are misspoken and a word left out of a statement can alter the perception. We do PPI, "SOME PPI GUYS have a sense of Entitlement". We encounter them regularly and their companies are causing the pending regulations. When those go into effect they can have it ALL. $100 CAP and a $125 MAX no storage charges for the first week. (based on a 5 day work week and not a Towing 7/24 week). $25 MAX on Dollies and no additional for roll back. Must Take CC is the real killer, cause they frequently dispute the charges later. That's like Motor Clubs blaming Damages which were noted, photographed and obviously prior damage. No one looks at those and the CC companies side with the card holder. Anyone have a better way to take alternative payment other than cash?

[rreschran]

Perhaps it should be said that maybe ... just maybe ... it's not tow truck drivers whodo the deed of theft, what about lot personnel, inside employees, or others coming over the fence to do some selective shopping? I believe in innocent until proven guilty and one suspect at a time until the data says otherwise. The two guys that I caught stealing in one night weren't PPI guys, they were police towers and long-time employees of the company. Theft is a crime opportunity where an individual with sticky fingers can't decipher between right and wrong.      R.  

[dperone]

I'm not a cop, I don't want to be a cop. Unless the car was towed for an investigation I don't care what's inside of it. 90% of the time I don't go inside any car I'm towing, regardless of the nature of the call. If you don't look for it, you won't find it and then you won't have to spend the next year testifying in court about it. I don't get paid enough to dodge cars as it is, I'm not adding lawyers and pissed off defendants that are only on trial because you watched too many episodes of cops and think that somehow you're a sworn officer to that list. 

[GRUMPS The Towman]

Deperone, I couldnt have said it better myself. There is NO reason for us as tow operators to perform ANY sort of search, PERIOD. It is not my concern what is inside that vehicle. Thats the police Departments problem. if there is something in there that they missed during their search then thats on them. I want no part of it.