Baltimore, MD – The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) must do a better job tracking towing data and invoices, and must more promptly send out towing notification letters, a biennial performance audit report conducted by the Department of Audits (DOA) found.   

DOA evaluated BPD’s towing process, adding DOT in the audit as specific towing practices are managed by both agencies. BPD is responsible for all tows initiated by a police officer and include vehicles that are stolen, involved in accidents, abandoned vehicles blocking traffic and those in tow away zones.  

Findings   

The audit noted that BPD did not keep track of how well medallion-certified towing companies were performing and did not always keep the necessary paperwork for towing invoices.  

Since 2017 BPD has required towing companies to arrive within 20 minutes of a dispatch. This policy was waived during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but was expected to resume for the audit period. However, DOA found no evidence that the 20-minute policy was adhered to.  

Concerning BPD towing invoices, For FY 2022 and FY 2023, DOA reviewed 11 of the 21 regulated towing service invoices. Of those, BPD was not able to provide bills to substantiate five out of 11 invoices (46%).   

The audit also noted that DOT’s customer service to vehicle owners needs improvement. Specifically, out of 55 towed car notification letters sent residents, DOT could not find receipts for 26 of them (47%) while the 29 other letters were not sent out on time. According to DOT, the cause of not being able to find all samples is because DOT does not keep the receipts in an organized manner. While the Administrative Building is being renovated, DOT keeps the green receipts in brown cardboard boxes in UHaul storage trailers. 

A full audit breakdown is available at the Comptroller’s website.  

Next Steps 

DOA recommends that BPD: 

• Reinstate policy that certified towing companies arrive at the scene 20 minutes after request is dispatched in the new contract, and realistically adjust the time measurement based on the current operating environment.  
• Track data on tows. If BPD decides to keep this performance measure, monitor the implementation of the policy.  
• Enforce that the agency’s fiscal team follows the City’s records and retention schedule consistently.  

DOA also recommends that DOT:  

• Establish an automated process to send out notification letters timely.   
• Update notification letters to ensure all required information is complete and clear. 
• Consider making this information available in multiple languages to be more inclusive.  
• Periodically cross reference vehicle location data in inventory systems to those in the physical locations on the DOT Impound Lot.  
• Consider establishing an electronic filing system to include systematic procedures to locate records efficiently.  

Both BPD and DOT have agreed with the findings and have provided a response to recommendations in the audit report.   

“Letting people know we have their vehicle and are going to auction it off is a basic service,” Comptroller BIll Henry said. “No excuses – we need to do better. I’m asking for DOT to come back in six months to show that we have made significant improvements.” 

The full BPD FY ’22-’23 biennial performance audit is available at the Comptroller’s website