NCJ Number
184469
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 67 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2000 Pages: 70-72
Date Published
July 2000
Length
2 pages
Annotation
The International Association of Chiefs of Police’s (IACP) national law enforcement recognition program called Looking Beyond the License Plate demonstrates how police officers who observe a license plate violation and suspect that something further is wrong can lead to the apprehension of a wanted criminal, an arrest, or the solution of a crime.
Abstract
The IACP Highway Safety Committee assessed the hundreds of entries. The entries cited many arrests for violent crimes, including murder, rape, armed robbery, prison escape, and kidnapping. In addition, several incidents resulted in the apprehension of habitual traffic violators and drunk or drugged drivers. The grand prize went to a police officer whose January 1999 observation of a license plate violation that led to the apprehension and arrest of a suspect and three accomplices wanted for the shooting death of a police officer 4 days earlier. Police agencies nationwide acknowledge that front and rear license plates are crucial and cost-effective tools for identifying and tracking offenders, because an estimated 70 percent of all serious crime involves a motor vehicle. Case examples