Motorists who flee or try to flee from Plainfield police officers now face a $500 fee.

At the Monday, Plainfield Village Board meeting, village trustees unanimously approved an ordinance assessing a $500 administrative fee to the registered owner of any vehicle that flees or attempts to flee from a Plainfield police officer.

The $500 fee is based on the average cost the police department incurs to investigate these cases.

“Our officers have noticed an increase in people driving away from traffic stops, fleeing or attempting to elude them,” Plainfield Police Commander Zach Zigterman told village trustees. “The concern is that when these people flee from the police, they put everybody else in danger, even when we’re not chasing them. They’ll turn off their headlights, they’ll speed and they will change lanes abruptly.”

During a 90-day period in 2025 (Feb. 10 through May 10), the Plainfield Police Department tracked fleeing incidents and had four drivers flee from officers.

“Together, these incidents took over 30 hours of officers, supervisors, and support staff’s time away from duties they would have otherwise been performing,” Plainfield Police Chief Robert Miller and Village Administrator Joshua Blakemore said in a memo.

An internal analysis determined that it costs no less than $500 in resources for every incident of a motor vehicle fleeing and eluding from officers, Miller and Blakemore said in the memo.

“We could have really absorbed this when it was happening once or twice a year,” Zigterman said. “With the frequency that it’s occurring, we think it’s placing an undue burden on the village to do that.”

If the registered owner wishes to dispute the fee, they will be able to do so through the police department’s administrative hearing process.

“It’s not intended to be a penalty or a revenue generator,” Zigterman said. “It’s only an attempting to recover a portion of the resources that are expended in connection with that criminal activity.”