ARTICLES
Vehicle VIN Etching Reduces Auto Thieft
At the request of the Buccaneer Safety Patrol, the Lee County Sheriff Department’s Auto Theft Task Force was at the Buccaneer from 9:00 AM until Noon on Saturday February 11, 2006. During that time, they etched the VIN Number on all of the windows on 85 cars of Buccaneer Residents. They also affixed 45 CAT stickers to many of the cars rear window. Safety Patrol Chairman Al Peirolo was kept busy directing traffic.
The VIN Etching Operation will be conducted in the Hospitality House Overflow Parking Area. VIN Etching has proven to be one of the greatest theft deterrents of our time -- widely endorsed by Law Enforcement Agencies, the FBI, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and the Insurance Bureau of Canada and by many Insurance Companies who even offer premium discounts of up to 15% for vehicles protected with window VIN etching security. VIN Etching is often provided by new automobile dealers at a cost ranging from Free to $200.00. Most often the cost added is in the $100.00 range. The Registration Line started out long and stayed that way all morning.
The Registration Desk was also a very busy place.
Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) is serial numbers for vehicles that are used to differentiate similar makes and models. Much like social security numbers, every vehicle has a different VIN that is registered with the federal government. VIN plates are located on the dashboard and can only be viewed through the windshield. Law enforcement officers use the VIN as the primary means for making positive identification of a vehicle. It is a simple ploy of auto thieves to put something, perhaps a small piece of paper, over the VIN plate if they have to temporarily leave the stolen car unattended to foil identification by interested police. Unless the officer has a search warrant, he cannot enter the vehicle and move the paper to obtain positive identification of the vehicle. The first thing that has to be done is for the vehicles window to be cleaned.
However, if the vehicle has been VIN Vaccinated it will be very difficult to hide the VIN from the officer and theft is discouraged. It also means that it will cost the thieves a lot of money to replace all the windows in the car prior to resale. They can’t even sell VIN Etched windows on the Used Auto Parts market. The Registration Line seemed to just get longer and longer all day.
The CAT sticker in the rear window indicates the owner of the vehicle has asked the law enforcement offices to pull over the vehicle anytime between 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM if they see the vehicle on the road. If the owner of the vehicle is driving the vehicle, they are allowed to proceed, but if the owner is not driving the vehicle, the driver has some serious explaining to do. The CAT program is a tool which will greatly improve the chance of you getting your vehicle back if it has been stolen.
We would especially like to thank Suzaan Hobson of the Sheriff Department’s North Fort Myers District and Detective Derek Ball for coordinating this at the Buccaneer. All together, there were 8 members of the Sheriff Department’s Auto Theft Task Force at the Buccaneer. They were Suzaan Hobson, Derek Ball, Regina Green, John Lathrop, Sammy Espinosa, Pam McFall, Ed Palmer, Sgt. Chip Pakulis, and Lt. Todd Garrison. Several of those named are not shown in the photos because they often work as undercover offices.
