SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 2, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown will testify before the state Senate Wednesday afternoon is support of Senate Bill 53, which increases penalties for people convicted of illegal street racing.
SB 53 supports:
- Increasing the penalty – going from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor – for drivers engaged in street racing events,
- Prohibiting a person from being spectator or preparing for speed racing (street racing event), and
- Allowing law enforcement to seize and confiscate a vehicle that is not street legal that is engaged with a speed race or exhibition of speed on a highway.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Jani Iwamoto (D-District 4). Rep. Ryan Wilcox (R-District 7) is floor sponsor.
A statement released by the SLCPD says that in recent years, dispatch calls regarding illegal street racing have risen dramatically.
“Calls for service rose from 71 in 2019 to 409 in 2020. That is a 467% increase in just one year,” it says. “Our calls for service remained at an abnormally high level during 2021 — a reality law enforcement across the country experienced.”
Brown is expected to speak at approximately 3:40 p.m.
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