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NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:  Thursday, January 10, 2008

INACCURACY IN HARTFORD COURANT REPORT "CITY CRIME REPORT MIXED"

(Hartford) - In an article published today in The Hartford Courant it was reported that "There were double-digit declines in the larceny category, which dropped by 24.4 percent, in part because the city stopped reporting the thefts of license plates and registration stickers."   Not only is this totally inaccurate, but it shows a lack of knowledge of state and federal law on the part of The Hartford Courant.

The Courant may have forgotten that approximately eighteen months ago Governor M. Jodi Rell and the State Department of Motor Vehicles change the location of motor vehicle registration stickers from license plates to windshields, in effect deterring the theft of plates.  Prior to that change, the Hartford Police Department would recover a full large recycle barrel of stolen plates each week. 

This change by the Governor has resulted in nearly 1,300 less stolen plates and stickers in the City of Hartford during 2007, an unprecedented 52 percent reduction over 2006.  For this we are grateful to Governor Rell, for not only has this new process reduced larcenies, but it has also saved time, money, and significant inconvenience for the thousands of individuals fallen victim to having their license plate stolen. 

Click on this link to a November 5, 2005, Press Release issued by Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell entitled:  Governor Rell  Moves to Curb Thefts of Vehicle Registrations Stickers.

The Hartford Police Department has always and will continue to report all thefts of license plates and registration stickers to state authorities and to the FBI under the Uniform Crime Reporting system.

Click here to view the full Hartford Police Department 2007 Crime Statistic Report. 

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Contact:   Nancy Mulroy, Public Information Officer, Hartford Police Department,  (860) 757-4021
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