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Fleeing or trying to flee from Oswego police now brings a $750 fine · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Fleeing or trying to flee from Oswego police now brings
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  Speaker 1: a seven hundred and fifty dollars fine. Written by Eric Shelkoff,
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  Speaker 1: This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by Everlett. Motorists who flee or try to
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  Speaker 1: flee from Oswego police officers will now have to pay
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  Speaker 1: a seven hundred and fifty dollars administrative fee. At the
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  Speaker 1: March third Oswego Village Board meeting, village trustees unanimously approved
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  Speaker 1: an ordinance assessing a seven hundred and fifty dollars administrative
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  Speaker 1: fee to the registered owner of any vehicle that flees
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  Speaker 1: or attempts to flee from an Oswego police officer. Oswego
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  Speaker 1: Police Chief Jason Baston had recommended the village enact the
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  Speaker 1: fee to improve roadway safety. The seven hundred and fifty
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  Speaker 1: dollars fee is based on the cost the police department
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  Speaker 1: incurs to investigate these cases. Even if we don't chase someone,
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  Speaker 1: if they take off and they're driving in an unsafe manner.
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  Speaker 1: After that they do that, it's not safe on the roadways,
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  Speaker 1: Baston said after the meeting. So that's the goal. It's
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  Speaker 1: just to increase roadway safety. There have been twenty six
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  Speaker 1: violators in the last five years, Baston told village trustees.
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  Speaker 1: Only three of the violators were Oswego residents. Baston noted
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  Speaker 1: the police department has a restrictive pursuit policy to ensure
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  Speaker 1: the safety of the public. Even though it means offenders
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  Speaker 1: get away, we are also not putting the public in
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  Speaker 1: danger by participating in a pursuit, he had told village trustees.
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  Speaker 1: And a lot of times when we initiate a pursuit,
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  Speaker 1: the offender drives pretty recklessly, causing a danger to the public.
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  Speaker 1: The administrative fee would be on top of criminal charges
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  Speaker 1: against the offender, Baston said, and hopefully that would deter
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  Speaker 1: that behavior, he said. Other municipalities are also enacting such ordinances.
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  Speaker 1: Plainfield Village trustees on December fifteenth unanimously approved an ordinance
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  Speaker 1: assessing a five hundred dollars administrative fee to the registered
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  Speaker 1: owner of any vehicle that flees or attempts to flee
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  Speaker 1: from a Plainfield police officer. Like Oswego's new fine, the
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  Speaker 1: five hundred dollars fee is based on the average cost
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  Speaker 1: the police department incurs to investigate these cases. It's not
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  Speaker 1: intended to be a penalty or a revenue generator. Plainfield
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  Speaker 1: Police Commander Zach Zickterman had told village trustees it's only
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  Speaker 1: an attempting to recover a portion of the resources that
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  Speaker 1: are expended in connection with that criminal activity.