ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — All too often you read news reports about the police and suspicious vehicles, and false stickers on those vehicles.
While it may sound trivial, patrol officers of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) are trained to spot these anomalies.
A situation that resulted in some of these things occurred on Wednesday when the RNC received a report of a suspicious vehicle operating in the west end of St. John’s around 8 a.m.
The vehicle was located and a 70-year-old driver was found to be operating the vehicle while prohibited from driving. He was arrested and charged for that offence, in addition to tickets for not having insurance or registration, and having false stickers on his licence plate.
He was released to appear in court at a later date and the vehicle was impounded.
Sometimes the police get tips from the public about something in their respective neighbourhoods, and other times the officers observe erratic behaviour on their own.
“When an officer completes a traffic safety stop, he checks the VIN numbers, the driver’s licence, the plates, etc.," Const. James Cadigan, the RNC’s communication’s officer, said Thursday.
“Often they find vehicles are not registered but do have a sticker on their licence plate, making the car appear to be registered,’’ he added.
Most of the time these stickers or plates have been obtained illegally, and only add to the difficulty the driver will face as charges are meted out.
Cadigan says this happens far too often and he urges the public to make sure they are always looking over their property to ensure plates or other portions of their vehicles have not be stolen.
In addition, suspicious vehicle sightings for patrol officers sometimes come after a tip from the public.
People are urged to be vigilant in observing anything suspicious in their neighbourhoods and to contact the police if they have concerns.
This is how a number of suspicious vehicles have been identified by police.
