San Diego police say social media is making illegal street racing events larger, rowdier and harder to shut down since a resurgence that began during the pandemic. While targeted enforcement the last two years has cut the number of events in half, police say they’re still concerned because street racing events are becoming more dangerous and often spur other crimes like gun sales and gambling. “It’s not just going to be their criminal behavior of doing doughnuts or street racing,” Detective Sgt. John Ampol said. “We see things like civil unrest, fireworks, gambling, registration fraud, insurance fraud and court fraud.” Ampol said it’s particularly troubling that the events have become rowdier and more extreme so that the groups staging them can gain more followers on social media when they show videos. He said that many participants are also encouraged to act defiantly toward police and block them from trying to shut down events, because such behavior plays well on social media platforms. “They make social media videos basically bragging about how they were able to block the police,” Ampol told the City Council’s Public Safety Committee last week. “This puts them on the map for other clubs and other takeover crews throughout the state and the nation.” Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, chair of the public safety committee, said San Diego needs to devote more resources to shutting down illegal street racing and related events known as sideshows and unsanctioned car meets. “They’re doing this to get followers — if you get enough followers on social media, then you start to get paid,” she said. “Motorcyclists aren’t going to just drive 200 mph if nobody sees it. They’re doing it to put it on social media.” Ampol said social media also helps organizers spread the word about their events more quickly and effectively, making the events larger and harder for police to shut down with just a few officers. “Sometimes there are 200 to 300 spectators out there, and we don’t know what they’re capable of,” Ampol said. “They know they have the power in numbers.” Social media notifications to participants and spectators also allow a street racing event to quickly shift from location to location multiple times during one night, which makes it much harder for police to shut down an event. “This is their way of thwarting police response,” Ampol said. “By the time we have a coordinated response, they’re already done with what they’re doing and they’ve moved on to the next location.” Most street racing events are announced on social media only a few hours before they begin so police don’t have a chance to find out in advance and prepare to shut an event down, Ampol said. In addition to more resources for targeted enforcement, Ampol said police need help reviving the use of a 2003 city ordinance that had allowed the city to seize cars involved in street racing and arrest spectators. Ampol couldn’t say precisely why the ordinance is no longer effective. “It just has not been utilized in quite some time,” he told the committee. “The department is working with the city attorney’s office to structure a new format to bring that program back alive.” Calls to San Diego police about street racing events fell from 261 in 2021 to 177 in 2022, partly due to targeted enforcement during the final four months of 2022. Calls declined even further, to 126, in 2023. Ampol said targeted enforcement includes saturation efforts focused on violation of emissions and loud exhaust laws, intelligence-driven enforcement details and behind-the-scenes investigative follow-ups. He said greater enforcement is needed because street racing puts people at risk, damages streets and hurts nearby businesses. Bari Vaz, president of the Mira Mesa Town Council, said plaza owners and merchants in her community have been hit hard. She said a plaza anchored by Target estimated it lost $1 million to street racing in a single year. “The worst part is frightening their customers,” she said. “We have had residents report that when these car shows arrive at the mall, they have been told by the organizers to basically get out of town.” The plazas face costs to repair damages to physical property, threats of lawsuits from people who are injured or have their cars damaged and higher insurance costs, Vaz said. Ampol said the races also spur gambling, with some races prompting bets as large as $30,000, and several kinds of car-related fraud related to registering cars illegally and staging crashes for insurance money. Police say they are also popular sites for gun sales, including sales of untraceable “ghost” guns. Among the many city intersections where street racing is common in the city are Broadway and Harbor Drive downtown, Camino de le Reina and Hotel Circle North in Mission Valley, Genesee Avenue and Esplanade Court in University City and Kerns Street at Drucker Lane near the U.S.-Mexico border. Residents are urged to call 9-1-1 if they see an illegal street race.