WICHITA TAG OFFICE DRIVER

Why traffic fines lead to license suspensionsĪround 71 percent of license suspensions in Kansas are a result of a driver not being able to pay a fine, according to Kansas Legal Services. In 2021, another bill put forward by Faust-Goudeau made some progress by repealing the $25 fee needed for someone to apply for a restricted license. It’s currently in the Senate Committee on Judiciary with no discussion since Feb.

Oletha Faust-Goudeau (D-Wichita) proposed a bill that would help an estimated 3,300 Kansans out of this pipeline by letting more people apply for a restricted license that may be used when a driver’s regular license has been suspended. Restriction from driving or detention in jail can both lead to job loss, further exacerbating the challenge of paying for what you can’t afford to pay for.Ĭhanges in law are being sought in the Kansas Legislature, but with limited success.Įarlier this year, Sen. Driving with a suspended license or failing to appear in court can lead to bench warrants and arrests on the next traffic stop. Unpaid fines can lead to court appearances and suspended driver’s licenses. These investigative stops combined with processes and fines associated with minor traffic infractions create a ticket-to-jail pipeline for people unable to afford fines. An independent report investigating culture within WPD released Friday found that more than half of the officers surveyed want to increase investigative traffic stops – stops made for the purpose of investigating who or what is in the car – and more than a third want to increase searches of people and cars. The Wichita Police Department denies racial profiling, but the data on traffic stops suggests disproportionate impact on people of color. Chief District Court Judge Eric Melgren wrote. “Evidence of the racially disproportionate impact of a particular government policy or course of conduct will not, standing alone, satisfy the requirement that the official action was taken with a discriminatory intent,” U.S. In January 2022, a judge ruled that the case may proceed but dismissed some claims including one regarding whether the gang list was racially discriminatory and violated the constitutional right to equal protection under the law. The WPD is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Kansas Appleseed, who say this list and practice are unconstitutional. So can being on the Wichita Police Department’s “gang list,” a list police maintain of individuals suspected of being gang members based on who they associate with, places they frequent or the color of clothes they wear. They can use small traffic infractions to justify these stops. That’s because police officers conduct what are called investigative stops, pulling over people they suspect are committing crimes. Please reload the page and try again.Ī traffic ticket for something as simple as a broken headlight or a missing taillight can snowball into a jail sentence in Kansas for low-income people who can’t afford car repairs or fines.Īnd according to some activists and state representatives, it’s more likely to happen to you if you are Black because you are more likely than others to get pulled over in the first place. Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription.

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