The Dallas Police Department Southwest Crime Reduction Team, Speeding/Racing Task Force, South Central Crime Reduction Team, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, Auto Theft Unit, and Homeland Security Investigations conducted a major interagency operation that targets the use of fake paper buyers’ tags.
According to a report on The DPD Beat, Dallas Police seized 42 eTags and issued 49 citations in the operation carried out on January 19. Police also said they made 149 traffic stops and three arrests and recovered four weapons and two stolen cars. Eleven vehicles were towed.
While police did not specify the exact locations where the operation took place, they did say that it was carried out within small grids across southwestern and south-central Dallas.
The operation targeted people who used fake or improper temporary license plates. According to the police, vehicles with these temporary license plates are often used in the perpetration of crimes like auto theft and homicide.
Authorities targeted multiple types of eTags in the operation that sought to interdict the paper tags, investigate the reason behind the fake license plates, tow the vehicles, and arrest offenders as necessary. Some of the eTags officers targeted included those that were expired and those that were obtained fraudulently.
Police attributed the high level of success to the cross-sectoral effort between multiple agencies. The collaborative efforts also provided timely resources on-site, they said.
The Dallas Police Department’s Auto Theft Unit inspected vehicles officers believed to be stolen, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles provided support with eTag research, and Homeland Security Investigations assisted officers in identifying persons by using mobile fingerprint scanners.