It seems unimaginable that Colorado motorists who’ve been caught multiple times driving with a suspended or revoked license — or no license at all — face only misdemeanor charges no matter how often they break the law.
A Denver Post story published Sunday found that during the past 16 years, nearly a half-million people have been convicted for driving on a suspended or revoked license or without a license. Of those, more than 3,500 have at least six convictions.
Yet, unless those drivers are drunk or they cause death or serious injury, they will not face felony charges.
It’s a situation that cries out for attention.
We’re glad to hear state legislators plan to look into whether tougher penalties would bring down the incidence of such infractions.
However, as The Post’s Kirk Mitchell reported, it’s not just a matter of ratcheting up penalties. Prosecutors and judges say they don’t have enough jail cells to deal with the lawbreakers who flow through the system now.
Any examination of penalties must include an analysis of how such a change would affect local jails and the state corrections system.
The issue came to the fore after a Sept. 4 traffic accident in Aurora in which a 3-year-old boy and two women were killed. Francis Hernandez, accused of running a red light and causing the accident, was on the road despite never having a Colorado driver’s license and being convicted four times of driving illegally.
Hernandez also is in this country illegally. Serious questions remain about why he wasn’t deported after any of his many convictions — and before he was involved in the crash.
The public is still waiting for further explanations from local law enforcement and U.S. immigration authorities as to how that happened.
However, the case is illustrative of the problematic state of enforcement when it comes to traffic offenders with multiple convictions.
Denver police say they cite thousands of repeat offenders a year who are driving without a license, but the city doesn’t have enough cells to hold them.
Should the city tax its residents to build more jail space? There are some who speculate that enforcing the nation’s immigration laws would fix the problem of drivers without licenses.
We’re guessing that would help, but we haven’t seen any data to suggest it would end the problem. Immigration problems won’t be solved without a comprehensive federal policy and additional federal resources.
We think state lawmakers are on the right track in looking at whether Colorado’s laws need to be strengthened. We hope they look at the problem comprehensively, though, because tougher laws aren’t going to do a bit of good unless there’s a place to put offenders.
