Stolen Plates

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Interesting brief story in today's New York Daily News:

A guy from Florida had the license plates stolen from his 15 passenger van in New York City on May 5th.  He filed a report with the NYPD's 69th Precinct, got an incident report from them, and notified the Florida Dept. of Motor Vehicles and requested new plates.

He then made up a cardboard "plate" with his license plate numbers and the words "Lost Plate" on it and kept driving.

On May 21st he was pulled over and arrested for having a "forged license plate".

He was held in custody for a day.

A judge just ruled that the cops failure to investigate his explanation was "outrageous"  and allowed his suit for false arrest to proceed against the NYPD and the two officers.

It will probably take a while to wind it's way through the courts (unless the city offers, and he takes, a quick settlement) but he will hopefully get a nice chunk of change down the road.

It does raise some interesting questions:

Did Florida TELL him to make up a temporary plate, or was it his own idea?

Do states even HAVE a regulation covering something like this? 

May 5th to May 21st is 16 days.  Does it really take that long to deal with something like this?

I'm assuming that the plates were stolen by professional car thieves, who needed to put it on a car that had already been reported stolen.  They probably figured that cops wouldn't have a record of stolen, out-of-state plates.  As such, I guess it could happen to any one of us, even if we pride ourselves as driving something that "no one in their right mind would steal".

I'm not sure what I would do if it happened to me.  Anybody got any ideas?

Regards
John

Maybe, instead of mounting our plates with regular or Phillips screws, we should invest a couple of bucks in some kind of tamper-proof screws to hold the plates on.  I know - me being paranoid again.  I'm guessing they would go steal somebody else's plates if mine weren't easy to get off.  You know the joke - "I don't need to outrun the bear, I just need to outrun YOU!"

 

[Almost There]

May 5th to May 21st is 16 days.  Does it really take that long to deal with something like this?



I'm not sure what I would do if it happened to me.  Anybody got any ideas?

Regards
John

Maybe, instead of mounting our plates with regular or Phillips screws, we should invest a couple of bucks in some kind of tamper-proof screws to hold the plates on.  I know - me being paranoid again.  I'm guessing they would go steal somebody else's plates if mine weren't easy to get off.  You know the joke - "I don't need to outrun the bear, I just need to outrun YOU!"

Yes, it can take that long to deal with, easily!

If you're travelling, dealing with a DMV in your home jurisdiction can be problematic. First they wouldn't issue replacement plates just on your say so, you'd have to provide them with a set of police reports. They'd also need the original of your vehicle registration because you can't have two of them for the same vehicle.

That would mean rounding up a copy of the police report, maybe emailing, more likely they want snail mail so that they've got the original of your registration. Then they process it, and we all know that if you're not standing at the counter that could take a while...   And you'll have had to convince someone in the DMV to actually mail the new plates to you! Good luck on that one! And it's not like you can send a relative in to do it without them having power of attorney for you.

I'd guess that making up the cardboard plate was his own idea! Neat idea though.

And tamperproof means of securing your plates isn't a bad idea at all - as long as you hang on to the removal tool for dear life. Especially since your plates normally only have to be replaced in FL every 5 years IIRC. Here in Ontario you keep your plates for as long as you want and can transfer them from one vehicle to another of the same class which is a stupid plan because now we have tons of plates on the road that are so faded and dilapidated that they can't be read.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

And tamperproof means of securing your plates isn't a bad idea at all - as long as you hang on to the removal tool for dear life.

That's not a problem.  I have a pretty full set of tamper-proof bits in my tool box.  There's not much I can't unscrew.

(Course, my family claims there's not much I can't screw up, either! :angel: )

Btw, thank you for your comment on a family member needing power of attorney.  I actually have a brother I trust completely, one more thing for me to look into before I hit the road.

Regards
John

 

[Ella1]

We're required to have one plate. Mine is taped to the inside rear window.
And yes, giving someone power of attorney is a good idea.
I think I'll leave one on my desk.

 

[MikeRuth]

Honestly hope this guy gets to nail the them. I'm not against LEO but this sounds like we got a good bust here without proper investigation BS.

Good luck to him.

As for tamper proof hardware, definitely a good idea, As said above, hopefully they would just move on to an easier pick.

 

[compassrose]

In NM, They will steal your plates. They will steal anything that isn't nailed down. If they have a hammer to remove the nails, nailing it down won't help. Local judge here just turns them loose. After all they are disadvantaged and have a good excuse for stealing. It's YOUR fault that you have something the thief wanted. I kid you not, one of the judges here in Socorro does exactly that, SAYS exactly that on the bench and the criminals and their families keep voting him back in. Your vehicle registration should have your tag number and expiration on it. I suggest you keep that important piece of paper safe. If your plates are stolen, I would suggest making a large copy of the registration and taping it to the window.

For those who long term in campgrounds... I suggest removing your plates once parked. I have only run into someone who's plates were stolen one time. They were parked behind us. Our plates were not on the RV. Their plates were.

 

[my_vantasy]

Ohio is a two plate state. Long time ago I loaned an SUV to someone to go on an out of state job interview. While in New York, one plate was stolen. They reported it to NYPD, but there was not a lot they could do as it was not their vehicle. When they got back to Ohio, they gave me the contact information and I called. This was at least 15 years ago, but I do not recall having difficulty getting new plates from my local BMV. Again, this was 15 years ago.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

We're required to have one plate. Mine is taped to the inside rear window.

The state you're in doesn't require your plate to be illuminated at night?  I thought that was pretty universal . . .

Regards
John

 

[ahh_me2]

I live in Alberta Canada, and we only use a one plate(rear) system here.
About 10 years ago I had my plate stolen off of my van, got a replacement, and caught someone in the act of trying
to remove that plate as well. I was fortunate that I recovered that plate.
So I stuck my plate in the rear window of the van, where it doesn't have the license plate light which is mandatory.
I never got harassed but I did get pulled over a few times for no real reason, and they always asked why my plate
was in the window, and I would tell them because stolen once and attempted theft after, seems to be the only way I can
secure it, they seemed OK with that.

Fast forward to this past winter, my Dodge van had the plate on the standard plate mounts with license  light.
Around midnight cops are knocking on my door, I answer and they ask if I knew my license plate was stolen?
I answer Oh no ....not again!

So then I ask them why they are concerned about a vehicle parked in a private driveway with no plates.
They replied, someone witnessed someone taking the plate off my vehicle and phoned it in.
They scoured the area but couldn't find the perp.
They then warned me to not drive without a plate or I would be getting a ticket!
They offered me some tamper proof screws so this wouldn't happen again.

Well, the next day I walk to the registry, get new plate, and figure I'll try and use their tamper proof screws, they are the kind that you can screw in with a normal flat blade screwdriver, but can only be removed with a "special tool"

After installing them, I decided to see how easy it would be to remove them.
Very difficult with a normal screwdriver, but with a 25 cent piece(quarter), I had removed one screw in 30 seconds.

Tamper proof my A$$!!!

So I put the plate inside the rear window as I had with my other van....

 

[Reducto]

I was living in Oakland and had an old truck with many year stickers layered on top of each other (plates stay with the vehicle in CA so it likely had 18+ stickers built up) and someone was able to get a blade under the stack and removed the sticker. I believe many plates or stickers are stolen because people can't afford their insurance, registration, or repair needed to pass smog. That, or they're hiding from the law for some reason. It's much cheaper to just steal a current plate than it is to get legal.

If your plate is mounted to your rear door you could drill holes and mount your plate using a bolt and lock washer, accessed through the interior. Thieves would be able to loosen the bolt a little, after that it would just spin.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

There are lots of tamper resistant bolts other than the one Ahh-me2 mentioned.  Take a look at http://www.losspreventionfasteners.com/tamperproof-security-bolts/

Regards
John

 

[jimindenver]

Days after I bought a new E 150 I had the temp tag stolen. Usually you put them inside the back window but this truck had none.

So I am in the truck and hear whap whap in the back of the van. I got out and when in back and my tag was gone and someone was jumping in a pick up behind the van. The fact that I was in front of their truck didn't matter, they gunned it. That sent me over the edge and as the truck passed I saw a hand outside of the window. I thought you aint all getting away and locked onto someones wrist intending to yank them out of the window. That might have worked had the frame not kept the arm from going backwards any more.

 

[DannyB1954]

Once i became a prime suspect in a bank robbery. I had a bike in a public parking area. Someone stole my plate, put it on another stolen bike and robbed a bank. They chased the guy and lost him back in my neighborhood.
The investigating officer said that I was a suspect because they traced the plate to me and I had a motorcycle license. How many people own a motorcycle and have it registered without having a license to ride one?
Idiot Cop believed I would put my own plate on a stolen bike so that I could rob a bank. I didn't even match the description of the robber. even after I went in for their "interview", they kept calling me asking where I was, is the bike kept in a secure area etc.
Moral of the story, If you are dealing with a simple minded Officer, don't expect common sence to help you out. If I get stopped for traffic, there is probably a note on my ID that says I may have robbed a bank.