By Steven Symes 
Plenty of people in Kansas City, Missouri are celebrating after police released images of alleged predatory tow trucks being towed away. It’s part of a crackdown on the crime trend we’ve seen not only in Kansas City but plenty of other metropolitan areas as unlicensed tow trucks take cars, then demand big sums of cash to return vehicles.
City refuses to pay for car totaled by ambulance that ran a red light.
Detectives with Kansa City Police’s property crimes division made several busts on April 25, seizing several tow trucks they allege have been used in predatory towing schemes. The department didn’t disclose exactly how many trucks were seized or who owns them. In fact, it won’t say if charges have been filed, simply stating they’re “possible.”
The whole point of the KCPD social media accounts showing the tow trucks being towed away was to let “the public… know we’re hearing them on these issues,” Captain Jake Becchina told KCTV5. If you want to be cynical, you could say it was all a public relations move.
After busting one towing company it alleges was breaking the law, KCPD set up a tip email address for other predatory towing cases. As the tips flowed in, detectives have been following leads. Now they’re making more busts, so the initiative seems to be doing something.
However, allegations and charges filed doesn’t mean anyone is going to be facing actual consequences. If prosecutors, a jury, or the judge goes easy on people engaging in predatory towing, the problem could persist. Plus, not everyone accused of such a crime is guilty.
But there’s a movement in Missouri and other states to tighten up laws surrounding what tow companies are able to do. We’ve thought many of them have too much latitude, allowing them to take vehicles for flimsy reasons and charge sky-high rates for owners to get their rides back.
Hopefully this will lead to sketchy towing practices going away, leaving companies that don’t operate in the shadows, leaving car owners in a real bind all to make a quick buck.
Image via Kansas City Missouri Police Department/Facebook
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