Ask the officer Ask the officer (August 11, 2004)

Menlo Park police officer Glenn J. Raggio answers questions about the police and law enforcement. Call 330-6396, or e-mail: asktheofficer@menlopark.org.

Q. My license plate was stolen from my car. Is this a common occurrence? What do people do with stolen license plates?

A. You didn't say, but I'll bet it was the rear plate that was stolen. Bad guys steal license plates to get the registration tags. They carefully remove them and apply them over the expired registration tags, making it appear that their car has current tags. We run cars through our computer system all the time that have expired registration but that show current tabs. This crime can actually be a felony: possession of stolen property, Penal Code Section 496. Another reason bad guys steal plates is to put them on the same make car they have just stolen. If an officer runs the plate, it comes back to the same make and model.

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