Commissioner of Police, Keithly Benjamin, has pointed to a problem where vehicle owners can find themselves at odds with the law if they carelessly dispensed with their old number plates and criminal elements used them on other vehicles to commit offences.

Commissioner Keithly Benjamin

“We want to remind the owners of these old number plates that they have an obligation not to allow their plates to be misused,” he told a press briefing on Wednesday. “Though the plates have been changed, the registration number remains. In the event that the number is fitted onto another vehicle and used improperly, the first point of contact for us when a crime has been committed or alleged to have been committed is the owner of that registration number.

“One has observed that when you drive down the Valley there are a number of these plates on one of the trees aligning the road. That creates a situation for the plate to be abused and I would suggest to members of the public to control the misuse or the possible misuse of their plates when they are changing over to the new plates.”

It is understood that there have already been cases where unauthorised persons have used the old number plates on vehicles not owned by those persons who once had the registration numbers.

Meanwhile, responding to a question, Mr. Benjamin agreed that there were certain complaints reaching the police about the design and numbering of the new and colourful number plates now seen on many vehicles on the island as arranged by the Government. He said it was something the police had to look into in conjunction with the Ministry of Communications “to see if we can alleviate the problem or minimise it to the benefit of the motoring public and pedestrians alike.”

There are complaints include that the numbering is too small and that the colours do not show up well at night. Mr. Benjamin is of the view that the new number plates must be easily readable in order for the police to be able to identify vehicles without difficulty.

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