While the amendment before us is important-- that is to reduce the time allowed for abandoned vehicles to remain on private property--it addresses only the very tip of the iceberg. Abandoned vehicles on private property represent only 2% of all the abandoned autos removed throughout the city. Public space is where the real battle against abandoned and junk vehicles must be fought.

To paint the picture, consider that in a typical month, we receive over 2600 service requests regarding abandoned vehicles. Approximately 80 of these are on private property. That leaves 2500 or so remaining in public streets, alleys, and parks. Of the cares we tow every month, only 8% are ever reclaimed; 10% are sold at auction and the rest are junk, dumped on our city streets.

To make any significant progress, we must recognize and implement a fundamental change in our operating paradigm. These are not just abandoned vehicles; they are heaps of metal trash. The law currently treats an abandoned vehicle--including junk vehicles-- as private property. And, in compliance with the law, we must go through a rigorous notification process to give the owner every opportunity to move that property from the public space. Then, once the vehicle is towed, we must give owners additional time to claim their vehicles.

For example, every car with a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), regardless of its condition or drivability, must be held for 45 days before it can be auctioned or scrapped. The result i s a chronically full impoundment lot filled with a lot of junk. Junk that attracts vermin and trash, blights our neighborhoods, tarnishes the nation's capital in the eyes of visitors and diminishes the quality of life for our residents. The District's struggle to curb the flow of these vehicles onto public space is long-standing and persistent. In the past year, we have tracked a 40% increase in abandoned auto complaints, overwhelming our capacity to resolve them. It is difficult to outrun a tidal wave.

Faced with a mounting number of complaints, static regulations and insufficient resources, we have seen our performance ratings erode to the level of barely functioning. Our storage lots are filled to capacity, yet there are still hundreds--even thousands-- of junk cars on the streets. Further, residents lack the incentives to dispose of their own junk properly.

This is taking place regardless of the fact that we have made dramatic improvements in our abandoned vehicles program since we began this crusade, with the help of this Committee, last September. We have radically improved our technology by moving the program to a citywide computer standard. We have installed mobile computers in our investigators' vehicles. We now have direct access to stolen vehicle information in the "Washington Area Law Enforcement System," commonly known as WALES.

We have automated and streamlined many of our processes, centrally located key personnel and added 25 new tow trucks to the operation. Most recently, we have increased the minimum bid at auctions from $25 to $500. We have come to realize that selling cars at bargain-basement prices only ensures that, sooner or later, we will see those same vehicles again on our streets. Bought cheap, these cars are never registered, licensed, inspected or insured. They are driven until they break down and are then, again, abandoned. It is a vicious cycle that must be broken.

While our recent achievements have been significant, and have made us more efficient, they have not been enough to overcome the sheer volume of junk vehicles entering the system.

I have said for some time that improving our ability to tow cars is not enough to fix this situation. We need a new approach that is preventative rather than reactive, one that allows us to remove vehicles from the street more quickly, and that facilitates their timely disposal. We also need help-- from other agencies and the private sector-- to get the job done. More rigorous policing. A regulatory crackdown on chop shops. Partnerships with private towing companies. A modified titling process to facilitate disposal.