PHOENIX — Illegal street racing and intersection takeovers have been major problems across the Valley for years.
But now a Phoenix Police Street Racing Task Force, created a year ago to crack down on the problem, is seeing results.
Street racing
“People get caught up in the moment,” said Sgt. Philip Krynsky of the Phoenix Police Department. “They don’t really think about the consequences.”
Consequences he says can be tragic.
“You’re putting yourself at risk… and other people that had nothing to do with this,” Krynsky said.
He says over the past year, the task force has made a difference.
“We have seen a significant reduction in calls for service regarding street racing,” he said. “A lot of their time used to be dedicated for traffic takeovers or intersection takeovers, and that’s also been dramatically reduced as well.”
Phoenix police report 90% of their task force efforts go toward side-by-side street racing and less than 5% for intersection takeovers.
Key components of the task force include undercover operations and intelligence gathering.
“Intel is going to drive quite a bit of this,” he said. “It’s being strategic with it, learning from patterns that we’ve seen in the past.”
In 2020, they received 6,200 calls for service, but in 2021, that number dropped to about 4,500.
Police issued 2,000 citations in 2020, compared to more than 600 last year, and filed 5,200 charges in 2020, with just more than 1,200 in 2021.
“It’s a multi-faceted event that we’re doing,” he said.
Another helpful tool - new laws implemented, which allow officers to impound street racers' cars as well. In 2021, they took in more than 220.
Still, the problem continues.
“Until people realize this ain’t the place to do it... we may not catch them today or tomorrow, but we will identify them, and they will be arrested,” he said. “Think twice before you engage in this type of activity.”
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12 News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.