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Local police are baffled by a rash of license plate thefts on campus and in surrounding communities.
According to local law enforcement, more than 20 plates have been stolen in a two-week period. Police say they currently have no suspects and have not detected any patterns connecting the thefts.
As reported by four local law enforcement agencies, eight plates have been stolen on campus, seven in Old Town, two in Orono and three in Milford, Veazie and Bradley. The plates have been taken at night or in the early morning, usually from the rear of the vehicle. In only one instance, in Old Town, were both plates removed from the front and rear of the vehicle.
With no leads, suspects or witnesses, police say they are at a loss in solving this bizarre case.
“At first we thought it might just be vanity plates,” said Bill Mitchell, a Public Safety officer. “There’s been no sequence, no theme … just plates.”
Mitchell said his department has maintained contact with other law enforcement agencies to compare reports and information about the thefts, and also to collaborate to discover a motive or pattern.
“We thought maybe it was a frat[ernity] or a juvenile thing, but with no rhyme or reason, it’s hard to say,” said Mitchell.
Police said the thefts appear to have ceased, with the last report of a stolen plate filed on Oct. 8.
“It could be the mission is done and they’re off to other things now,” Mitchell said.
For the victims of this crime, dealing with a lost plate is inconvenient and time-consuming. The Maine Department of Motor Vehicles lists the cost for replacing a stolen plate at $5.50 per plate.
UMaine student Frank Turner said he noticed that his plate was missing from his car, parked in the resident lot near Gannett Hall, on a Monday morning. He said he suspects the plate was stolen sometime Sunday night but, like police, he has no idea why.
“I was pissed off. It does [the thief] no good to have my plate … they can’t use it,” Turner said. As far as preventing future thefts, Turner said he has a simple solution.
“I’m just going to tape the plate in my back window if someone’s going to take it,” he said.
For people who don’t wish to resort to securing their license plates to the interior of their cars, other options are available.
V.I.P. Discount Auto Centers in Bangor and Old Town sell kits to secure plates to cars for about $4. The kit includes special screws with a hollowed-out hexagon tip that only allows the plate to be removed with the screwdriver included, as opposed to a flat-head or Phillips screwdriver.
If caught, the thief or thieves could face a separate count of theft for each plate stolen, according to police.
