LANSING - If you are a car thief, you won’t have much luck at selling these cars.
The Lansing Police Department and the Michigan Automobile Theft Prevention Authority offered free window etchings Tuesday in the AAA parking lot, 2829 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing.
“It’s a theft deterrent,” said Fred Doelker, a community relations representative for AAA. “It keeps people from selling your vehicle to a chop shop.”
The system involves etching the vehicle’s identification number onto every window of the vehicle. All cars have the number on their windshields. By etching the number onto every window, a car thief can’t sell the automobile to a chop shop without replacing them all.
“As a thief, you are not in the business to replace the glass on cars,” Doelker said.
A chop shop is a place where vehicles are taken apart and the body parts are sold. Doelker said a chop shop won’t take a vehicle with the identification numbers on the glass.
“The numbers on the windows can’t be rubbed out, or cleaned off,” he said. “They are actually etched into the glass.”
Vehicle theft has fallen in Ingham County since 1992, according to the Michigan Automobile Theft Prevention Authority. In 1992 there were a recorded 1,140 car thefts. The number dropped to 648 in 1999.
Wayne County has the largest number of stolen automobiles. In 1999, more than 30,000 vehicles were reported stolen. But this number has steadily decreased since 1986.
Doelker also said many insurance companies offer anti-theft discounts to their customers.
“If you don’t have an anti-theft device in your vehicle already, then they will give you a discount,” he said.
East Lansing resident Earl Helmers was one of the first to show up to get his windows etched.
Helmers said the etching will keep thieves away.
“I think it will help, but of course I have a whole security system,” he said.
Lansing police Officer Dave Verderese said when cars are stolen and stripped or damaged, the cost goes to the general public.
“The insurance company has to pay for the damage and so the cost goes on to us,” he said.
Verderese said while a thief may not be able to sell the car, it doesn’t ensure against theft.
“When they peel off these doors and they want to sell them, it is identified by the number that is etched on the windows and they don’t want to deal with that because it is identifiable,” he said. “This doesn’t mean your car won’t get stolen, it is just one more tool.”
