10-10-13 fdl council hears about new police gas drive-off response policy

Fond du lac police want gas station owners to take more of the responsibility when it comes to preventing gas drive-offs.    The Fond du Lac city council was apprised of the new policy at their meeting Wednesday night.    Assistant Police chief Steve Klein says the large majority of the 200 or so gas drive offs reported each year are  unintentional where the driver  mistakenly thought he or she had paid.  "What this change in policy does is it requires the station owners to verify that this was an unintentional act, they have to get the license plate number, description.  They have to submit their request to DOT to get the registered owners information and then they have to send that registered owner a letter requesting payment before the police will even get involved,"  Klein told WFDL news.  Klein says some communities ask gas stations to require people to pay before they fill up.  Klein says the new policy will free up police officers to concentrate on more serious crimes.