It is a recurring phenomenon every summer: the urban rodeo returned to the center of the news last week following this dramatic accident in Pontoise. Two children aged 7 and 11 seriously injured, mowed down by a scooter which was taking part in this type of activity. In the process, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin demanded 10,000 anti-rodeo checks in France for this month of August. A request followed by effect in Toulouse, where since last Monday the police operate 5 operations per day dedicated to this offense, as well as that of the “run”. “Wild” car races, conducted in the middle of traffic, often in Toulouse on the road to Spain. The police carried out a special operation there overnight from Friday to Saturday. A communication operation also, since this control was opened to the press.
Intensified checks
Before the Pontoise accident, the Toulouse police devoted two operations a week to this type of offence. It’s been since Monday now 5 checks per day who are assigned to it. They target both rodeos – often scooter drivers who drive dangerously (on a raised wheel for example) and who create noise pollution – and “runs” – “wild” car races on public roads, sometimes with a non-compliance with speed limits and other obligations of the highway code.
If the police do not have no specific additional means to carry out these checks requested by the Minister of the Interior, this does not pose a problem according to the Departmental Director of Public Security (DDSP) in Haute-Garonne, Jean-Cyrille Raymond: “In Toulouse, we have 1,600 police officers working, so I have the means (…) Simply the means I am prioritizing them at the moment on this type of offence. We are in August, there is an activity which is not at the maximum, we will say, I can schedule five operations per day“explains the chief of police in the department, who ensures that this prioritization is not done to the detriment of other files.
A difficult offense to characterize
While rodeos and runs are quite easily identifiable when one is nearby, they are on the other hand more difficult to characterize legally, hence the relatively low volume of lawsuits. For example, in Toulouse, in 18 operations before this Friday we only count 6 rodeo offenses observed (Often it is other offenses or misdemeanors which are also observed and which give rise to sanctions). In total, during these operations, 534 vehicles were checked, 27 were confiscated, and 26 people were arrested for various reasons (from the stolen motorcycle to driving under the influence of alcohol).
A new method to try to stop the phenomenon
To curb this phenomenon, the Toulouse police are inspired by what they are already doing in drug cases. It will rely in particular on CCTV, to precisely identify the vehicles and the offenses they commit. But also on land surveillance, with teams “stashed” on site. Until now these two tools were not used for rodeos and runs according to the DDSP. Jean-Cyrille Raymond intends to gain in efficiency in this way: “The goal is to succeed in eradicating the phenomenon; that is to say, to hurt them, to hurt those who do that. And not just that they just get a ticket and get away with it quickly, which won’t stop them from coming back the following weekend.“