The scene from Oakland over the weekend – with cars on fire after law enforcement agencies attempted to reclaim streets following an illegal sideshow – dominated newscasts throughout the Bay Area.
But while Oakland cops were trying to restore order, officers from throughout San Joaquin County were out in force trying to prevent something similar from happening.
The San Joaquin County Sideshow Task Force – comprised of the Manteca and Tracy Police Departments, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Stockton CHP Office – was active across the county over the weekend as part of a coordinated effort to stamp out the illegal and oftentimes dangerous world of sideshows.
Back in October the California Highway Patrol secured a grant for $1.5 million – the grant is known as the Sideshow, Takeover, Racing, Education, and Enforcement Taskforce, or STREET – to help implement the Campaign To Eliminate Street Racing and Sideshows.
The targeted effort comes in response to the rising number of illegal street takeovers and sideshows – where cars block access to freeways, city streets, and parking lots so that cars can spin donuts and do Figure 8’s – that have rocked the state in the past two years.
And while sideshows have been known to attract violence and have been known to end in violence, the byproduct of reckless driving often extends far beyond the public roadways where the sideshows take place.
According to data from the California Highway Patrol, from Jan. 1, 2021 through Sept. 30, 2022, the CHP issued 40,593 tickets to motorists operating vehicles in excess of 100 miles per hour – a startling development that spurred more rigorous enforcement efforts and the formation of taskforces and social media campaigns.
On Jan. 1, Assembly Bill 2000 – signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom last year – went into effect and gave law enforcement more tools to enforce the law as it pertains to exhibition of speed even when the violation occurs in a parking lot and away from a city street.
Those that are caught participating in sideshow activity – and being present at one, even if not participating, could be viewed as “aiding and abetting” the crime – can be arrested and have their vehicle impounded for up to 30 days. The cost to get a vehicle out of impound can be thousands of dollars on top of the cost of the ticket and the potential court fees that come as a result of the infraction.
To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com
