CLEVELAND — Hit-skips are one of the most frequent crimes in Northeast Ohio yet notoriously one of the most challenging to solve. Ever since the state did away with the front license plate requirement, the task of investigating reports of hit-skips has grown even more difficult, officials said.
In 2019, Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law the state’s transportation budget despite his own reservations about language in the bill that would eliminate the much-discussed and beleaguered front license plate. At the time, numerous law enforcement groups were critical of the proposal, saying that the elimination of the front license plate would make investigating crimes — and specifically hit-and-runs — more difficult.
Their worries appear justified — at least anecdotally.
“I think it was just terrible for law enforcement. It was something that we lobbied against down in Columbus when it came about. It’s just such a valuable tool to have [front license plates],” said Gary Wolske, a retired police detective and current president of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police. “With the advent of so many traffic cameras nowadays. We’re losing half the battle because half the license plate isn’t there. It certainly wasn’t for money reasons because my license plates didn’t go down.”
Although the absence of the front license plate affects law enforcement agencies across the state, it is especially problematic for urban departments like the Cleveland Division of Police.
As News 5 has previously reported, the understaffed hit-skip unit at the Cleveland Division of Police have only been able to locate the vehicles used in just 18% of hit-skip cases between January 2020 and June 2022. Police said 14,228 hit-skips were reported to the city during the 2.5 year time period. The remaining cases were quickly written off as "unsolvable" by police due to a lack of evidence, according to police.
A particularly egregious hit-skip last weekend in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood is a glaring example of how valuable of a tool the front license plate is when it comes to criminal investigations.
On Saturday, an 18-year-old woman was crossing Broadview Road near Valley Road when a man driving a Toyota Corolla inexplicably careened right into her, causing the woman to go airborne. The security cameras from a nearby business captured the entire incident as well as the driver fleeing the scene. Despite having a clear an unimpeded view of the front and side of the Corolla, a plate number is difficult to discern.
If the vehicle had a front license plate, it is likely that police would have at least a partial plate number.
Driver Jasmin Ayala recently witnessed a hit-skip on Pearl Road.
“There was a hit and run next to me the other day and it would have been beneficial to have the front license plate. I would have been able to help the lady that got hit,” Ayala said. “Especially in this area of Cleveland, there are a lot of hit and runs where you can’t catch the people because you can’t see the license plate number.”
Many car dealers supported the elimination of the front license plate, citing their duplicity and its impact on sensors and other tech in modern vehicles. Additionally, the state reportedly saves $1.5 million every year from having to produce fewer plates, officials said.
Wolske wonders if their removal has come at an even greater cost.
“We have fatal accidents all the time that are hit skips and the only thing the person saw was maybe the front license plat. Now you don’t have that anymore. It’s just not good for the motoring public, it’s not a good safety thing,” Wolske said. “It’s just something that’s a valuable, valuable law enforcement tool. Some poor victims now have no opportunity to have their bills paid, no ability to be compensated for something that they had no part of.”
Thirty states still require a front license plate. However, Ohio is surrounded by states that do not require them. Reverting back to making it mandatory to have a front license plate would require a change in state law. Wolske believes it’s not too late.
“I think people need to go back to the legislators and say, ‘look, this is what we want. It’s a public safety issue,’” Wolske said. “I think we can go back to it. We just need to keep showing them examples of how it’s such a valuable tool for law enforcement to solve crimes that are being committed.”
