opinion

Editorial: End stops for front license plates

We’re still getting letters to the editor saying Samuel DuBose would never have been stopped if he had simply followed the Ohio law requiring front license plates. Maybe. Or maybe University of Cincinnati officers practicing a stated policy of “aggressive policing” would have found another reason to stop him, such as a broken taillight or failing to use a turn signal.

The case for allowing drivers to be pulled over for a minor issue like a missing front plate is not one rooted in safety. If police stopped everyone missing a front plate – after ascertaining the offending vehicles weren’t from a state such as Kentucky or Indiana that doesn’t require them – officers would neglect the vastly more important tasks of preventing and investigating violent crimes.

No, the license-plate question, at heart, is about whether everyone should be treated equally. Making a missing plate a primary offense for which officers can stop a motorist provides an excuse for law enforcement officials to pull over people based on their “gut.” The problem is, everyone’s gut is full of prejudices, depending on our individual experiences. The type and age of the car, the neighborhood and, yes, the race of the driver can all factor into an officer’s gut decision to make a stop – what many call “driving while black.”

An Enquirer analysis found that, as UC police have ramped up off-campus enforcement, 62 percent of tickets went to black motorists and pedestrians in the first half of 2015, up from 43 percent in 2012.

State Sen. Cecil Thomas, a Democrat from North Avondale, has proposed making a missing front plate a secondary offense, which would mean officers couldn’t initiate a stop solely because of that.

Fine, but a better idea would be to pass a bill introduced in April to eliminate front plates altogether. We understand the argument of law enforcement that front plates are helpful as an identifier on the front of a vehicle. However, the fact that 19 other states – including all of Ohio’s neighbors – require only a rear plate has created an environment that makes them seem nonessential to drivers.

If a front plate law is not worth the time and cost of enforcing across the board, why have it at all? As a bonus, eliminating it would save an estimated $1.4 million a year. The bill – House Bill 159 – is co-sponsored by local Reps. John Becker, Ron Maag, Jonathan Dever, Tom Brinkman and Louis Blessing III.

Granted, police will always be able to find a reason to pull someone over if they really want to. Ultimately, police policies and culture need to change, as they have with the Cincinnati Police Department since the Collaborative Agreement.

But as communities from Cleveland to Cincinnati continue to work on building trust and equality in the relationship between police and the black community, lawmakers should pass either Thomas’ bill or HB 159.

Removing one reason to stop motorists for “driving while black” may be more symbolic than game-changing, but there is power in symbols.