DETROIT – In the State of the City address on Wednesday, April 17, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan brought up a unique issue -- abandoned cars and boats that are a problem in some neighborhoods.
During the the address, Duggan laid out a new enforcement plan that went into action Thursday, April 18.
“This is part of our day-to-day operations as far as abandoned vehicles and combating blight,” said Capt. Jason Adams.
In 2023, the Detroit Police Department impounded a little under 14,000 abandoned vehicles. In the first four months of 2024, that number is roughly 4,500. But efforts are revving up even more now following the State of the City speech.
“You can’t store your cars on lawns like this,” Duggan said. “You can’t store your commercial vehicles in our neighborhood.”
The towing operation being carried out by Detroit police is to ultimately make the city better by removing vehicles that have been abandoned or improperly stored on lawns.
“It’s to combat blight,” Adams said. “The old vehicles and inoperable vehicles on the road, they contribute to the blight and it’s really a quality of life issue that we want to address.”
“It makes me happy that we’re serving the citizens the way they want to be served,” said Johnny Thomas. “We’re giving them their neighborhoods back and I think that’s our primary responsibility.”
After being confiscated, the seized vehicles will either be sold or scrapped if the owner takes no further action.