Dirt bikes seized by Rhode Island police to help Dominican Republic police

In the past, the City of Providence has destroyed nuisance dirt bikes and ATVs that it confiscated from offenders caught illegally operating the machines on local streets.

It was pretty dramatic.

But then a Rhode Islander named Ibn-Hashim Bakari had an idea.

Why not keep the machines in good condition and use them where they can help people?

Bakari had the Dominican Republic in mind, which benefited from the help and intercultural opportunities of an organization he founded in 2009: Lights & Sirens International.

Bakari recalls that the idea was sharply criticized by some critics.

Some suspected, citing corruption problems, that criminals would steal the machines and that their presence in the Caribbean country, which shares the large island of Hispaniola with Haiti, would not provide any public services.

But on Thursday, Bakari was pleased to note that 17 of the 21 planes had made it all the way from Rhode Island to the country’s capital, Santo Domingo.

Each of the 17 dirt bikes and four ATVs remains in good hands

Four of the 21 pieces of equipment are still in transit and are being inspected by customs officials, Bakari said.

The other 17, he said, were lined up in front of the main entrance to a Dominican National Police transportation facility, where police officials held a press conference on Thursday.

An international pact on dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles negotiated by Rhode Islanders and Dominicans

Shipping the dirt bikes and ATVs to the Dominican Republic was the goal of an agreement that Bakari helped negotiate.

The Cranston and Providence authorities agreed to provide the equipment to the Dominican Republic National Police, and the Dominican authority agreed to cover the cost of delivery.

Bakari said he bought the lock for the container and tracked the delivery.

Attaching police reports to an overseas shipment

Because the machines were seized, Rhode Island authorities do not have ownership documents for them, Bakari said.

Instead of vehicle registration documents, authorities provided police reports to customs officials who inspected the off-road vehicles in the United States and the Dominican Republic, he said.

Bakari was in close contact with Colonel Roberto Lerebours, the leader of the Dominican National Police, who is frequently in contact with American police authorities, including the New York Police Department.

Lerebours was present in March when Rhode Island officials, including Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins and Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist, ceremoniously announced the planned delivery.

The confiscated machines were loaded into the container on the same day.

On Thursday, Lerebours was present at the other end of the trip in Santo Domingo, Bakari said. Also present was General Latif Madfoud, who is responsible for transport in the National Police, among other things.

Bakari said Dominican police have promised to provide photographs of each motorcycle after they have been painted with police markings and numbered.

Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said Thursday that he spoke with Lerebours during the trial and got to know him a little.

Desired in Santo Domingo, despised in Providence

Perez, who emigrated from Colombia and visited the Dominican Republic, is familiar with the terrain challenges police officers face in regions near the equator.

Off-road vehicles and dirt bikes can provide vital mobility and help police remain visible in rough terrain, he said.

“It’s a more practical choice,” he added.

A more practical option for Dominican police officers – but not an option for thrill seekers in Providence and Cranston.

“These illegal off-road vehicles will be confiscated and used elsewhere,” Perez said.

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