E.P.P. 040
LONGWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT
ENFORCEMENT POLICY & PROCEDURE
NUMBER: EPP – 40
SUBJECT: VEHICLE TOW / IMPOUND AND INVENTORY
EFFECTIVE: JANUARY 26, 2001
REVISED: MARCH 31, 2023
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I. PURPOSE:
In the course of duty on a day-to-day basis, it is necessary for the protection of the officer
and the department to impound/inventory vehicles being towed and/or stored. Vehicles,
which are towed as a result of an accident, abandoned, seized, incident to an arrest, or
otherwise detained in storage, and not in the possession of the owner becomes the
responsibility of the impounding officer.
II. SCOPE:
The officer is liable for the vehicle including, but not limited to, all packages and other
containers, located within the passenger compartment, the trunk, or any other secured
area of the vehicle. To ensure that liability does not attach for property located within
any package or container, the contents of said package or container, whether it is opened
or closed, is to be ascertained and inventoried in accordance with the guidelines set forth
below.
III. VEHICLES TO BE IMPOUNDED:
A. All vehicles, which would be left abandoned and not legally parked will be
impounded at the officer’s request by the police department’s contracted
wrecker service subsequent to any action initiated by an officer, which would
leave the vehicle in the above described condition.
1. All vehicles meeting the above criteria will be documented on the
approved Vehicle Tow/Inventory Report Form on which all available
information will be completed.
2. All members will inventory the inside of any impounded vehicle. This
inventory shall include but is not limited to the passenger compartment,
glove box, trunk or additional storage areas.
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3. All closed containers contained in vehicles will be opened and their
content inventoried.
IV. VEHICLES NOT REQUIRED TO BE IMPOUNDED
A. Any vehicle which is legally parked will remain so subsequent to any action
initiated by an officer may be exempt from the provisions of Section III-A. In the
event a vehicle meets the criteria the following procedure will be followed:
1. The operator/owner will sign an automobile liability release form, which
will release the City from any liability for leaving the vehicle abandoned.
2. If the operator/owner refuses to sign the automobile liability release
form, the provisions of Section III-A, at which time the vehicle will be
impounded and inventoried in accordance with Section III-A.
3. Any officer at his or her discretion may deny the operator/owner the
opportunity to avoid impounding the vehicle. Under these conditions the
vehicle will no longer be exempt and will be impounded and inventoried
in accordance with Section III-A.
V. ABANDONED VEHICLES REQUIRING TOW/IMPOUNDMENT
A. All abandoned or unoccupied vehicles that are towed/impounded shall be
entered into FCIC/NCIC as “Abandoned/Towed” by the Telecommunications
Center at the request of the initiating officer. The initiating officer shall complete
the tow sheet in the following manner:
1. In the Reason(s) Towed Section of the form select “Other” and print
“Abandoned Vehicle”;
2. Complete and document an inventory of the vehicle;
3. In the Vehicle Can Be Released Section of the form select “NO” and print
“until proof of ownership on vehicle is provided”;
4. In the Vehicle Entered FCIC/NCIC Section of the form select “YES” and
enter the Teletype entry number.
5. In the Owner Notified of Impounded Section of the form select “YES” or
“NO”, whichever applies, and complete the date and time of notification
or attempt of notification. If possible, a continuous effort to notify the
owner of the vehicle should be made throughout the remainder of the
initiating officer’s tour of duty. These attempts should be documented in
the required information report or narrative relevant to the incident.
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6. Disseminate copies of the Vehicle Tow/Inventory Report form as
indicated at the bottom of the form.
7. Advise the wrecker driver that the vehicle is to be held at their storage
facility until they receive notification form the Police Department that the
vehicle can be released.
B. When vehicles requiring tow are found to be abandoned/unoccupied, an officer
shall complete and submit to the Records Section an Information Report or
include in the Incident Report Narrative the following:
1. Reason(s) for towing;
2. Registered owner;
3. Notification (or attempts) to registered owner;
4. Vehicle Identification Number (V.I.N.) appearing;
5. License plate number;
6. Towing/Wrecker service utilized;
7. Storage location of vehicle; and
8. FCIC/NCIC entry number.
VI. PLACING A HOLD ON AN IMPOUNDED VEHICLE
A. When a vehicle is impounded the wrecker driver will be advised if a “Hold” is
being placed on the vehicle. The wrecker driver will then note the “HOLD” status
on his/her impound report.
B. Any officer placing a “Hold” on any impounded vehicle will complete an
Information Report indicating the reason for the “Hold” and what criteria must
be satisfied prior to releasing the vehicle. In lieu of the Information Report, the
required information may be included in the narrative portion of the Incident
Report relevant to the incident if one is required to be completed.
C. In the Vehicle Can Be Released Section of the Vehicle Tow/Inventory Report
form, select “NO” and print the reason(s) for the hold being placed on the vehicle.
D. Only the lieutenant has the authority to approve a “Hold” on a vehicle and will
therefore review the reason(s) for the “Hold” and the initial Vehicle
Tow/Inventory Report form indicating that the “Hold” status has been approved.
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VII. PROCEDURES FOR RELEASING A VEHICLE FROM IMPOUND
A. A vehicle owner can obtain authorization for their vehicle’s release only for the
law enforcement agency that had it towed/impounded;
B. In situations where a Longwood Police Officer impounded/towed a vehicle
pursuant to this policy, the owner will be required to bring proof of ownership to
the Longwood Police Department Headquarters;
C. To facilitate the vehicle’s release, the owner will also need to bring the case
number (if obtained);
D. An officer will inspect the proof of ownership to ensure its validity and will then
contact the tow company to verify that the proof of ownership presented by the
owner corresponds with the Vehicle Identification Number (V.I.N.) of the
impounded/towed vehicle;
E. If the V.I.N. matches, the officer will inform the tow company that the vehicle
may be released and that the owner will bring them a copy of the Police
Department report that authorizes the release;
F. The officer will inform the owner that any costs arising from the lawfully executed
tow is a matter between them and the tow company and not that of the Police
Department.
G. The officer will complete a Supplemental Report Form using the original case
number.
H. The officer will print on the Supplemental Report Form the following data:
1. Original Case Number;
2. Date of impound;
3. Impounded vehicle information:
a. Year;
b. Make;
c. Color;
d. Vehicle Identification number.
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4. Owner’s name;
5. Type of “Proof of Ownership” presented.
6. Date of vehicle release;
7. Time of vehicle release;
8. Releasing officer’s information:
a. Name;
b. Rank;
c. Identification number.
9. If the vehicle had been entered into NCIC/FCIC, the releasing officer must
then contact the Telecommunications Center and request that the
vehicle be removed from FCIC/NCIC. The officer must indicate in the
Supplemental Report the date and time of removal.
I. The officer will sign the Supplemental Report Form where indicated and give the
owner of the vehicle two copies, instructing the owner to give one of the copies
to the tow company. The original will be forwarded to the Records Section.
J. The law required the tow company to provide notice within seven days to all
registered owners and lien holders that the tow company has the vehicle. The
cost of impoundment is to be paid by the person who owns or leases the vehicle.
K. An owner may also obtain a release of their vehicle by posting a bond with the
Clerk of the Court and obtaining a certificate of release from the clerk. Upon
posting the bond, the tow company must release the vehicle.
VIII. VEHICLE DRIVER ARRESTED
A. If an officer arrests a driver, the safekeeping of the driver’s vehicle becomes the
officer’s responsibility. An officer will not create an unnecessary financial
hardship on any driver by indiscriminately towing his/her vehicle.
B. If the driver is arrested for a non-D.U.I. violation the vehicle may be left in a
parking lot (in a lawful location), on a roadway right-of-way (in a non-hazardous
area), etc. without being towed if:
1. The driver signs an “Automobile Impound Release Affidavit” provided by
the arresting officer; or
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2. The registered owner or a family member who is a lawful driver can
respond to the scene within twenty minutes to take custody of the
vehicle; or
3. The arrest is made while the vehicle is parked on the driver’s property.
C. If the driver refuses to sign the affidavit or, if no person listed above can take
custody or, if the vehicle is not on the driver’s property, and officer will have the
vehicle towed for safekeeping.
D. If the driver is arrested on a D.U.I. violation it will be assumed by the officer that
the driver is not capable of understanding the nature of the affidavit, and the
vehicle will be towed for safekeeping. An exception may be made if:
1. The registered owner or a family member who is a lawful driver can
respond to the scene within twenty minutes to take custody of the
vehicle; or,
2. The arrest is made while the vehicle is parked in the driver’s property.
IX. TOWING PROCEDURES
A. If a vehicle is to be towed by an officer, the following procedure will apply:
1. The officer will attempt to contact the owner. All efforts to contact the
owner will be documented in the narrative section of the Incident Report
Form;
2. The officer will check the vehicle’s tag and V.I.N. number through the
Telecommunications Section prior to towing;
3. A Vehicle/Property Form will be completed;
4. A Tow Sheet Form will be completed and the vehicle inventoried (if
possible);
NOTE: When a vehicle is ordered towed by an officer, on the reverse
side of the Tow Sheet Form, the officer will diagram the area
from where the vehicle was towed and indicate the position of
the vehicle when it was in violation of law.
5. A Police Department contracted wrecker will be summoned via dispatch
by the officer and an ETA will be requested.
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6. Officers may cancel the wrecker response ONLY under the following
conditions;
a. The ETA provided via dispatch is excessive and the road blockage
involved is extreme enough that the roadway must be cleared
immediately.
b. Under no circumstances will wreckers be cancelled if their
response time is 20 minutes or less. A 20-minute response time
is not considered excessive regardless of the amount of the
roadway blockage.
7. Officers may deviate from the contract tow list only under the following
conditions;
a. The company does not have the required equipment to complete
the job (i.e. Class “C” wrecker)
b. Inside impound is needed for vehicles requiring processing and
the company does not have this type of facility.
8. The vehicle will be towed to the wrecker’s storage yard unless it is to be
held pending forfeiture proceedings in which case it will be towed to the
Police Department and the officer will advise the Telecommunications
Section to enter the vehicle into FCIC/NCIC as abandoned or impounded.
The officer will document said notification in the Incident Report Form’s
narrative section or by initiating an Information Report documenting the
incident and action taken.
9. Vehicles towed for processing will be towed and provided inside storage
by the police department contracted tow-company.
10. All city police vehicles requiring tow service will be towed by the police
department’s contracted tow-company.
X. Vehicles impounded subsequent to code enforcement action
A. Any vehicle impounded subsequent to any City Code Violation action, whether
removed from public or private property, shall be documented and inventoried
in accordance with Section III-A.
B. A copy of the Vehicle/Tow Report form will be left at the residence or business
where the vehicle is towed from.
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C. An Information Report or Narrative shall be completed in accordance with the
documentation requirements set forth in Section V(B).