24 May 2013

ACT Policing are worried about your number plates

| Barcham
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ACT Policing are again offering to fit your car with special “tamper-proof” screws for free so nobody can steal your number plate.

If you happened to spend $9000 on a number plate recently, this would probably be a good investment.

ACT Policing and the Canberra Centre are joining forces to combat registration plate theft via a free property crime reduction program this weekend, Project SAFE PLATE.

This Sunday (May 26) between 11am-3pm, motorists are encouraged to bring their vehicles to the Canberra Centre on Petrie Street, ground floor car park where officers will fit vehicle plates with tamper-proof screws.

Superintendent of North District Brett Kidner said that Project SAFE PLATE, while aiming to reduce number plate theft, is also an opportunity for the community to interact with local police.

“Stolen number plates are often used to commit other crimes, such as petrol drive-offs, burglaries and traffic offences. By reducing the opportunity for criminals to source one of their tools, we hope to contribute to a wider reduction in property and volume crime,” Superintendent Kidner said.

“It’s also a great opportunity to come down, say hello to your local police and get some advice on home or vehicle security. We hope to see as many people as possible on Sunday.”

From May 2012 to April 2013, 1353 number plates were reported stolen in the ACT.

Project SAFE PLATE launched earlier this year in Gungahlin as a whole-of-ACT coordinated effort, against action items contained within the ACT Government’s Property Crime Reduction Strategy. This is the first time the event has taken place in the Canberra City.
For more information on Project SAFE PLATE and future events go to police.act.gov.au.
If your registration plates are stolen, report it to ACT Policing on 131 444.

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Tooks said :

There are rego search sites available to do quick rego expiry checks. Available to police and civilians.

See here for ACT:
https://rego.act.gov.au/regosoa/public/checkRegoStatus.jsf

Rapid isn’t completely infallible. It does have more functionality than most realise though.

For instance, it knows what colour your numberplates are supposed to be and will throw an alert if it detects the wrong colour due to the owner not willing to fork out a couple hundred bucks to get plastic plates remade when a vinyl cutting machine is available.

markbuzz said :

They want to ensure number plates cannot be removed, and on the 1st of July ACT Rego are doing away with registration labels. Seeing as how police will now be having to rely on plate reading technology to pick up an unregistered car I wonder if anyone is concerned that people will have one registered car and simply swap plates around between their other cars? I presume having plates fastened with wing nuts or cable ties will be frowned upon…

http://www.rego.act.gov.au/Whatsnew/regolabelabolish.htm

There are rego search sites available to do quick rego expiry checks. Available to police and civilians.

FYI: Canberra Centre is not stinging you for parking there either… It’s the ‘Staff Only’ carpark off Petrie St and there is no charge. Nice policeman fitted mine while I waited

I’ve often wondered how many people out there have been driving unreg vehicles without being picked up by rapid – if they had a white commodore (randomly picked make and model do this example) and found a local white commodore if the same model which is legally registered by a law abiding citizen (is that possible?) and, rather then stealing the plate (which only works til they get reported stolen and cancelled) they duplicate the plates and put them on their car. Then, so long at the legit car doesn’t go out of rego, or there is a warrant out for the driver, they will never be picked up by rapid.

Even when I have been pulled over for speeding (let alpine RBTs) I’ve never noticed the cops check VINs – will they start doing that when rego stickers are gone?

And will the Canberra Centre be relieving motorists of a couple of bucks to enter their carpark?

wildturkeycanoe said :

[ quote comment=”479241″] well RAPID system would pick that up and you get a tripple fine no reg and plates to deceive, unless your poor the police will give you $20 and send you on your way.

If your 3 cars were all the same colour, make and model, no problem at all. But then why would you bother driving each one?

The RAPID screen may throw up vehicle details, but the cops would need to be static with pretty much no traffic around for them to have time to correlate the retrieved details to the car that is now well down the road.

Having a rego label on the windscreen was that little safety blanket for so many people (car owners, car buyers, parking inspectors, cops, vehicle inspectors, family/friends driving borrowed cars, etc) – I doubt I’ll see a significant reduction in my $900+ annual rego cost.

Pork Hunt said :

Rapid has a vehicle recocnition capability? I thought it just looks at the number plate to see if it is financial and not registered to a baddie…

That’s my understanding of how the system works no way could it pick up different model/make but the copper running could

Rapid has a vehicle recocnition capability? I thought it just looks at the number plate to see if it is financial and not registered to a baddie…

wildturkeycanoe6:08 pm 24 May 13

gazket said :

markbuzz said :

They want to ensure number plates cannot be removed, and on the 1st of July ACT Rego are doing away with registration labels. Seeing as how police will now be having to rely on plate reading technology to pick up an unregistered car I wonder if anyone is concerned that people will have one registered car and simply swap plates around between their other cars? I presume having plates fastened with wing nuts or cable ties will be frowned upon…

http://www.rego.act.gov.au/Whatsnew/regolabelabolish.htm

well RAPID system would pick that up and you get a tripple fine no reg and plates to deceive, unless your poor the police will give you $20 and send you on your way.

If your 3 cars were all the same colour, make and model, no problem at all. But then why would you bother driving each one?

markbuzz said :

They want to ensure number plates cannot be removed, and on the 1st of July ACT Rego are doing away with registration labels. Seeing as how police will now be having to rely on plate reading technology to pick up an unregistered car I wonder if anyone is concerned that people will have one registered car and simply swap plates around between their other cars? I presume having plates fastened with wing nuts or cable ties will be frowned upon…

http://www.rego.act.gov.au/Whatsnew/regolabelabolish.htm

well RAPID system would pick that up and you get a tripple fine no reg and plates to deceive, unless your poor the police will give you $20 and send you on your way.

Well given that 1227 plates were reported stolen last year then plates have become quite the collector’s item. I can’t possibly imagine what people would want to do with them?

They want to ensure number plates cannot be removed, and on the 1st of July ACT Rego are doing away with registration labels. Seeing as how police will now be having to rely on plate reading technology to pick up an unregistered car I wonder if anyone is concerned that people will have one registered car and simply swap plates around between their other cars? I presume having plates fastened with wing nuts or cable ties will be frowned upon…

http://www.rego.act.gov.au/Whatsnew/regolabelabolish.htm

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