Suffolk County is enacting a policy to crack down on deadbeat parents caught driving with suspended licenses.
Being caught driving with a license suspended due to child support payments will now result in an automatic arrest. Previously, police would only issue a summons.
"There are definitely individuals who are gaming the system, out there, who are literally walking out of family court laughing at the judgment put against them because they know they'll never fulfill those obligations," says Legislator William Lindsay III.
There are currently 12,280 people with suspended licenses in Suffolk County for the failure to pay child support.
"Pay your child support, that's the message," says Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.