Abandoned Vehicles: A Priority with Livermore Police Department

The Livermore Police Department has been taking a pro-active approach to abandoned vehicles on the streets of Livermore. Over the years, Livermore Police Department has participated in a county program that about 15 different police agencies take part in. The program is designed to assist departments in removing abandoned vehicles. Livermore Police Department has been ranked in the top 8 cities with the most participation, with larger cities such as Emeryville, Berkeley, Fremont, and Hayward which have a population twice as large as Livermore. When Livermore first entered in the program, there were only a couple hundred cars being marked and towed per month. Now, there can be 600 to 1140 cars per month being taken care of.

Livermore Police Department has a dedicated Community Service Specialist marking, towing, and citing abandoned vehicles as well as 3 volunteers assisting. All other Community Service Specialists and Police Officers help with abandoned cars also. A vehicle is marked abandoned for two reasons: Livermore Police receive a call reporting the car abandoned, or an Officer observes the vehicle. Officers look for the following criteria when marking a vehicle: cobwebs, leaves & debris around the tires, debris on the vehicle, dirt, low tires, and missing or broken vehicle parts. Even if a car is parked in front of the owner's house, driven occasionally, registered, and has insurance; it is considered "abandoned" if it's been parked for more than 72 hours without being driven.

The Livermore Police Department will place an orange courtesy notice on the vehicle that explains the Livermore code section and lets the owner know the date that the vehicle needs to be driven by. The marking officer will come back 3 days later to check on the vehicle. If at that time, the vehicle has not been driven, it will be towed & cited. The vehicle can not be moved just to avoid the tow; it actually has to be driven. The odometer will be checked and tires marked for proof of compliance. The fees for non compliance can place a damper in the checkbook…

If you are the owner of an abandoned vehicle that is towed, you will have to come to the police department to show identification or proof of ownership, pay $175 release fee, and any past registration fees. You would then bring a form to the towing company and pay $145 for the tow. It's an additional $40 per day for storage. If it has to be stored inside, it's an additional $45 per day. If you arrive at the tow yard after 5:00pm, you pay an additional $55 gate fee. You can also receive a ticket for $100. If that ticket is not paid on time, the fine doubles.

The Livermore Police Department deals with all vehicles on public streets. For all residential private property issues, you will need to contact the City of Livermore's Neighborhood Preservation at (925) 960-4444. Neither LPD nor Neighborhood Preservation is responsible for vehicles on commercial private property or in common interest developments such as apartments or HOAs. It is the responsibility of the property owner to remove those vehicles.

If you would like to report an abandoned vehicle, you may call the Abandoned Vehicle Hotline at (925) 371-4824. If you have any other questions regarding the program or a marked vehicle, you may contact Community Service Specialist Yolanda Magaña at (925) 371-4897. Please remember that LPD receives a large amount of calls daily. It may be several days before they can respond to your call, but they do respond to every call.