Posted on 04/20/2015 1:28:18 PM PDT by fruser1
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) issues these plates to police departments for officers in unmarked cars involved in sensitive investigations such as narcotics, organized crime or terrorism.
Confidential tags cannot be traced back to any specific person or organization if a criminal has a source run the plates through conventional databases.
But all three police sources also expressed bewilderment about why the Edmonston Police Department would need any confidential tags.
Each pointed out that Edmonston is a very small town, and that any major narcotics, terrorism or organized crime investigation would be outsourced...
The Town denies any allegation that this tag was intended to shield the Chief or any other Police Department member from automated traffic enforcement...
There is no evidence that the confidential tags have been captured on any speed or red-light camera, because police departments do not maintain records for tickets that are not assigned to any individual or organization.
...a confidential tag would generate no ownership records, and thus, no ticket.
When asked about the purpose of the confidential plates or to elaborate on whether they are being used properly, Ferguson said she’s not authorized to discuss the internal security measures of the Edmonston Police Department.
MVA officials declined to comment for the story or acknowledge the existence of the confidential tag program.
(Excerpt) Read more at wtop.com ...
Three simple instructions for how to leech those lesser-class taxpaying saps while simultaneously providing yourself ruling-class immunity and the illusion of equal protection:
1) Make it law to have everyone get a license plate for each vehicle. 2) Set up automated traffic enforcement, parking, and toll collection that uses plate information. 3) Create secret tags without records for the ruling class.
(Note, if you go through EZ Pass without a transponder, you are billed based on the plate.)
Just because this article only mentions use by police, what makes you think they're not used by legislators or "favored" gov employees?
What's missing in the article is who approves the plates and how the system is administered, i.e., is it an actual traceable process or is someone easily able to game the system?
The fact that this particular police department (Edmonston) can get them when they don't "need" them, proves the system is rigged.
You may think the intent is innocent, believing the purported reasoning of undercover safety.
However, there is one telling fact:
"...police departments do not maintain records for tickets that are not assigned..."
If this were an "honest" program, they would indeed have those records because, if you were an honest issuing authority, wouldn't you want to know who's abusing the system by racking up ATE and parking tickets, or running-tolls? Shouldn't those records be available for public inspection?
Of course you'd want to know! But, if you're a tyrant who wants to rape the public while walking through the raindrops yourself, you would have the system set up EXACTLY how it's set up now!
MD recently opened an EZPass Only toll road from Montgomery County to 95, which makes it oh so easy for those wealthier folks working for the gov in the Baltimore or Annapolis areas to get to work. Because the toll is pretty high, the traffic on that road is pretty light in comparison to the rest of the area.
I always suspected that the MD gov would set up "free" EZ Pass accounts for those "special" people, now I'm almost certain it's true.
I bet you democrat legislators get these type of tags automatically, while the repubs have to suck it up like the rest of us.
“... some are more equal than others.”
Okay, I may not be the brightest around, but answer me this: if someone tried to trace these plates, and got back nothing, wouldn’t that indicate that these were the “magic” plates, belonging to someone in government (i.e. law enforcement, etc.)? Wouldn’t that invalidate the stated reason to have these?
Geniuses all...
I have a family member who is LEO, and is often involved in sensitive task forces. I am thankful that his personal plates are not traceable, as he has already experienced two direct threats to his family because of his work. It isn’t so he doesn’t get tickets (he won’t get the ticket anyway), it is a matter of protecting his identity and his family.
“family member who is LEO”
I agree with the stated use, however, the system is set up for abuse.
It’s the police keeping track of tickets or toll violations. The unknown tags could still be reported to the issuing authority for correction.
The issuing authority would know who the plates were given to, so the same issuing authority can make the violator pay the fine/toll.
As far as public inspection goes, you could have actual identifying information removed, i.e., at least the public could see how many such tags were being abused, even if they don’t know who the individual is.
Of course, I’m sure the gov could still shield itself from fines if it wanted to.
To me, the “answer”, is not to get rid of secret tags, but to get rid of automated enforcement.
Not yet, anyhow...
he won’t get the ticket anyway
The exempt are...well, exempt. Why?
So, basically, if the plate is untraceable, it belongs to a cop.
THAT oughta keep criminals from targeting cops.
My thoughts exactly. A non-researchable tag should a huge red flag to the mindermast, er, mastermind criminal.
If he does something stupid, he probably gets in more trouble than just a ticket anyway, because if the infraction is of note, it IS reported through the brass to his commander...
Really? Do you think cops give other cops tickets? Nah... Perks of the job. Old Boy network... whatever. But that only goes so far as the cop's adiscretion - If he got pulled over for drunk driving, for instance, he'd necessarily be treated just like anyone else, because the arresting officer has little allowed discretion...
“it IS reported through the brass”
Not according to the article. If they speed past a speed camera, the ticketing officer has no way to know which command to send it to.
The author tried to find out how this is administered but, again according to the article, his questions were unanswered.
Which only adds credence to the idea that the game is rigged.
Not untraceable, bogus.
Exactly, and that's why a properly prepared undercover vehicle will be registered to a fake name with a real address, and the vehicle license plate will trace back to that information.
That, I would suppose, varies according to state, county, and town. We don't have automated ticketing here, so I can't tell you how that works.
So, basically, untraceable.
if the plates are supposed to protect undercover cops... it’s a fail.
the criminal only needs to get back ‘not found’ to know the owner of the plate is a cop
Evidently, it didn’t occur to the government drones that implemented this...
Right... because the tag is bogus - The identity and address tied to it are not true... It doesn't come back blank, but rather, false.
There is one set of laws in America, not open to interpretation by law enforcement. It applies to them just as much as you or I, period. If there is discretion allowed, just because on has a gun & badge, we have serious problems. Cops are NOT exempt from any given law just because they are cops. There is not one law for us, and one law for cops.
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