Thursday sweep part of a crackdown to fight neighborhood blight
The Wichita Police Department (WPD) and the Office of Central Inspection (OCI) impounded 27 vehicles on Thursday during a sweep of inoperable and abandoned vehicles.
The sweep was part of a growing city government effort to improve neighborhoods partly by fighting blight, a priority goal of the Wichita City Council.
The beefed up effort to remove abandon vehicles began more than a week ago, when Community Police Officers and neighborhood inspectors identified and marked 63 vehicles that appeared inoperable and abandoned in Central Northeast Wichita, a violation of municipal law. About 30 vehicle owners failed to respond to a certified letter informing them they had a minimum of 10 days to comply. Of those 30 vehicles, 27 were towed on Thursday. Future abandoned vehicle sweeps will occur.
“Thursday marked a success for our collaborative efforts to improve neighborhoods,” Police Chief Norman Williams said. “Abandoned vehicles cause neighborhood blight. We’re not going to tolerate them.”
Back to Top