MONROE, N.C. – Since January 2023, UCSO deputies, primarily assigned to the Town of Indian Trail Division, have proactively identified and seized approximately 1,100 forged/fictitious license plates on local roadways.
Traffic stops stemming from the large number of these forged license plates have resulted in numerous criminal arrests, stolen vehicle recoveries and illegal weapons and narcotics seizures.
Why Do Enforcement Operations Like This Matter?
Proactive law enforcement operations are vital to maintaining the overall safety of our communities. Drivers who display forged license plates often do so to avoid purchasing automotive insurance and properly registering their vehicles through the NCDMV. If you are involved in a collision with an uninsured motorist, your insurance company must pay for your medical bills, vehicle repairs and any other associated costs, often leading to a significant rate increase for you and your family.
In addition to being uninsured, many drivers displaying forged license plates do so to avoid having their vehicle pass a required safety inspection. This means that mechanically unsafe vehicles may be on local roadways, putting you and your family’s safety at risk. In addition to registration and mechanical safety concerns, drivers using forged license plates are often unlicensed or have had their driver’s license revoked for prior criminal offenses such as driving while impaired.
Offenders also use forged license plates to avoid detection while driving stolen motor vehicles. A traffic stop that begins due to a registration and/or insurance violation can quickly turn into a felony investigation that can lead to an arrest and a vehicle recovery.
Last Wednesday, the UCSO hosted a countywide forged/fictitious tag enforcement operation that involved 28 law enforcement officers form agencies across Union County. During this 24-hour period, participating law enforcement officers processed 225 criminal charges with the most notable offenses listed below. As you can see from these statistics, a traffic stop that begins as a forged tag violation can quickly transition into a much more serious criminal investigation.
- Driving while impaired: 2
- No operator’s license: 24
- No motor vehicle insurance: 18
- Driving while license revoked: 12
- Registration violations: 42
- Felony drug offenses: 4
- Concealed carry violations: 2
- Forged license plates: 23
Sheriff Eddie Cathey adds “Union County Sheriff’s Office deputies have once again raised the bar when it comes to proactively protecting and serving our residents. Seizing over 1,100 forged license plates is no small feat and has required a great deal of training, hard work, and dedication from our personnel. Drivers charged during this operation often tell our deputies that they were warned to stay out of Union County by their criminal associates and express regret for not heeding that advice. The UCSO will continue to be proactive in our enforcement efforts and we would like to thank our residents for their continued support.”
