# why was my licence plate ran so many times? Ran 17x in month!



## hydrive09 (Jul 11, 2009)

Hi, this morning I was pulled over by MSP for going a tad above the speed limit. The officer asked me when the last time I got pulled over in Mass was, (I assumed he meant for a violation) and I told him about a year and a half ago. He took my info and went back to his car. It was taking a while it seemed, so I knew I was going to be getting a ticket. He came back to the window (with the ticket!) and asked who else drives my car. I told him noone, just me. He then asked me again when the last time I got pulled over was, and I told him it honestly was 1.5 years ago.He said the reason he asked me was because my local police dept. ran my car 17 times the past month! I was wondering why they would do it so often?

I have an idea why they may- that is because of my schedual. I work very odd hours since I work for myself, sometimes I come into work arround 2-3 AM. I take breaks (coffee breaks, drink / snack breaks) randomly too, so the only thing I can imagine is they see me pull in or something so they may run it then. However it shouldnt be too suspicious because when I am at work, the lights are on inside the building, which are visable when driving by. However, sometimes I work longgggg periods of times, for example I may work 2-3 days, then I may sleep for an entire day (at home). But at work, I work in my dad's office, so its not like my car is the only car in the lot (people are here usually from like 7am - 5 pm) and I come and go throughout the day, doing errands and stuff. 


In the past 2 years, I have gotten pulled over ethere in my works parking lot, or right after leaving the lot, due to being suspicious I would guess 3x. But when they pull me over they ethere recognise me from there, or they just ask what I was doing there and I tell them I am just working and they run my info and they say they were just checking because they saw my car in the lot and send my on my way. 

Last month my town had an armed robbery in the middle of the night (I heard it on the scanner), and I was going to get a coffee several hours later and on my way back I noticed a cop behind me. As I pulled into the lot, the officer followed me in then put her lights on behind me and just said she was just verifying everything is ok. She told me "yeah I am used of seeing a car here anyways douring early hours... just checking"

Also, my dad knows a few of the officers (my father is involved in some town meetings, and so forth) and my grandfather used to be good friends with the former Chief (he has since retired) so it isnt like the cops dont know my family at all. 

So what I dont understand is why on earth would they run my plate 17 times! I know that three officers usually work the night shift at a time, (sometimes more when needed) but generally its 3. So since its a small town, there are only like 5-6 officers total who work the night shifts. So given that, it appears that atleast one officer is constantly running my plates? 

If it was a big town, I could understand maybe its all different cops running it, but that isnt the case here since its a small town. Then I figured maybe they think I am up to no good or something, but that doesnt make any sence to me because if they thought I was up to no good, they would maybe peek through the windows (LOL) or something, I dont understand why they would just keep on running my plates.

So, does Anyone have any ideas??

PS- I am 25 and I dont have any pending charges against me, dont have any restraining orders, and I am not on probation or anything, so its not like I am a high risk for warrents. So its not like they are running me to check if they can bust me or something (if I had a high risk of a warrent maybe they would run me every few days when they see my car...just to check if its ok to bust me or something). But since I never had a warrent in my life, I am baffled why they would run it so often. 


PPS- I know this question may not be able to be answered publically, so feel free to private message me!


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## SPINMASS (Jan 30, 2004)

Officers run plates at random, it could just be a coincidence that they ran your plate 17 times.


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2009)

A friend of mine had this same problem recently with Auburn PD. WEIRD.


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## OfficerObie59 (Sep 14, 2007)

The "Bad Cop, No Donut" bumper sticker usually encourages proactive policing...you may want to scrape it off.

In all seriousness, your suspicions may very well be correct. Also, you plate could be run multiple times as a result of a single car stop; i.e., the cop that stops you runs the plate as does his dispatcher and nearby sector cars to get an idea of the type person he's out with. BTW, the lookback on previously run plates (the Mass cop lingo is "MRI's" as in "hydrive has 17 MRI's") is a few months in the state system; individual department computer systems may have more detailed MRI logs take a lot longer to purge.

Again, cops don't need a reason to run a plate. Keep your nose clean, stay away from places you shouldn't be, and you'll have no need to worry.


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## hydrive09 (Jul 11, 2009)

OFFICEROBIE59-
Great advice, I should have realized that. I will definitly have to scrape all them bumper stickers off. I was wondering if I should scrape off the green leaf decals too, or do you think they are safe? (just kidding haha- I dont have anything on my car that would draw attention to itself). 

SNIPER- I was wondering how you knew which town I am from, I didnt post it anywhere in my message and I dont see it in my profile! Do you have some sort of 6th sence or something??


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## L4G81 (Nov 12, 2006)

Mine too ... must be something on Rt 20?? 



Sniper said:


> A friend of mine had this same problem recently with Auburn PD. WEIRD.


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2009)

hydrive09 said:


> SNIPER- I was wondering how you knew which town I am from, I didnt post it anywhere in my message and I dont see it in my profile! Do you have some sort of 6th sence or something??


I didn't......... However, YOU just did. I said my buddy had a problem like yours with that PD. Thats all I said.


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## GreenMachine (Mar 26, 2007)

maybe it was the vanity plate WACKR

_
Last month my town had an armed robbery in the middle of the night (I heard it on the scanner)_


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## LongKnife56 (Sep 9, 2008)

Didn't I read that some sheriff departments have license plate readers - would those trigger a check?


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2009)

LongKnife56 said:


> Didn't I read that some sheriff departments have license plate readers - would those trigger a check?


Yes. The RMV has to provide recent query info to WCSD. Guy Glodis gets 25 cents in grants for the following year for every plate his vehicles query.......


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## hydrive09 (Jul 11, 2009)

haha wow strange coincidence sniper!


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2009)

hydrive09 said:


> haha wow strange coincidence sniper!


My apologies. Frankie just called me back and it was *ASHBURNHAM*. Sorry for getting your hopes up. hahahaha


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## hydrive09 (Jul 11, 2009)

LOL its ok, I was more surprized then happy. Since he is from Ashburham and you typed Auburn, and I really am from Auburn, maybe you do have a 6th sence! Or maybe it was just luck- heck id still go buy a lotto ticket if I were you.... that is unless you have a feeling it wouldnt be a winner HAHA


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## fra444 (Nov 23, 2008)

Another thought is that some hard working LEO went through where you work and saw a lone car in the lot and ran the plate in an attempt to protect your property. I would guess that the plate would be run to get the operator info in case something was reported in the morning.

OR!!!! The other option is that your that woman from Seattle who claims she keeps getting stopped because she is HOTT!!!!


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## shawnl2213 (May 5, 2008)

Does anyone remember when the officers name was attached to the plate that was run? When did they do away with that?


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## Deuce (Sep 27, 2003)

You're either hot or look like a shitbag.....


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## MetrowestPD (Oct 21, 2008)

shawnl2213 said:


> Does anyone remember when the officers name was attached to the plate that was run? When did they do away with that?


When Obama was elected because it would be against people's rights to have the officer's name and remarks associated with the registration.


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## L4G81 (Nov 12, 2006)

Yes. It's still there, only you have to be a LE in order to have the audit approved to obtain the information ....



shawnl2213 said:


> Does anyone remember when the officers name was attached to the plate that was run? When did they do away with that?


That's it. The next M&G Sniper should have a table set up with tarot cards .......



hydrive09 said:


> LOL its ok, I was more surprized then happy. Since he is from Ashburham and you typed Auburn, and I really am from Auburn, maybe you do have a 6th sence! Or maybe it was just luck- heck id still go buy a lotto ticket if I were you.... that is unless you have a feeling it wouldnt be a winner HAHA


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## OfficerObie59 (Sep 14, 2007)

shawnl2213 said:


> Does anyone remember when the officers name was attached to the plate that was run? When did they do away with that?


 I simply think that depends on the computer setup of the particular department the officer belongs to. For example, MSP MRI's come up with the car/badge #.


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## 94c (Oct 21, 2005)

shawnl2213 said:


> Does anyone remember when the officers name was attached to the plate that was run? When did they do away with that?


Probably with the advent of MDT's, IMC etc...

I think the teletype queries only go back 30 days.

Department letterhead requests can go back years. (in the archives).

You'd be surprised how many times insurance companies run queries. (I never thought they could, but they can)


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## 263FPD (Oct 29, 2004)

OfficerObie59 said:


> I simply think that depends on the computer setup of the particular department the officer belongs to. For example, MSP MRI's come up with the car/badge #.


Absolutely correct. Our current set-up will not show anything. On my wife's Dept. it still shows. It's up to the IT Administrator.


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## 78thrifleman (Dec 18, 2005)

Good God... with that spelling and grammar, you must HAVE to work for yourself. Plus, going into work at 2-3AM, working for days at a time? What do you do, sell drugs?


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## Mozzarella (Apr 8, 2006)

Scrape off the Obama bumper sticker and the silly rainbow one and replace them with with a sticker that says Troopers Are Your Best Protection! You should see a decline in numbers... Worked for my seahag mother inlaw, should work for you.


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2009)

You should also stop driving really fast on defective equipment.


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## LGriffin (Apr 2, 2009)

hydrive09 said:


> PS- I am 25 and I dont have any pending charges against me, dont have any restraining orders, and I am not on probation or anything, so its not like I am a high risk for *warrents*.


The wording of your statement leads me to believe that you have been arrested in the past. You're Dad may be "somebody" but that alone doesn't make your local PD think any more of you if you're a frequent flyer. Just going out on a limb here, but i'll bet you know what they're checking for...


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## 263FPD (Oct 29, 2004)

Mozzarella said:


> Scrape off the Obama bumper sticker and the silly rainbow one and replace them with with a sticker that says *Troopers Are Your Best Protection* ! You should see a decline in numbers... Worked for my seahag mother inlaw, should work for you.


I see that sticker, and I wonder "What is that person trying to hide?"

more then half the time, it's drugs.


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## MM1799 (Sep 14, 2006)

> Last month my town had an armed robbery in the middle of the night (I heard it on the scanner),


If the scanner is located in your car, lose the antenna(e). Having extra antennae on your car adds at least 2-3 queries at night... at least!


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## militia_man (Mar 27, 2005)

Mozzarella said:


> Scrape off the Obama bumper sticker and the silly rainbow one and replace them with with a sticker that says Troopers Are Your Best Protection! You should see a decline in numbers... Worked for my seahag mother inlaw, should work for you.


I had a pretty good foot chase with a guy that bailed out of a car with a, "Troopers are your best protection", bumper sticker on it. He had a couple warrants and of course, a little bit of weed. I'm even more suspect of cars with thin blue line stickers and plates. I think the dirtbags believe that police stickers will help prevent them from being pulled over.


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## Sarge31 (May 1, 2004)

GreenMachine said:


> maybe it was the vanity plate WACKR
> 
> _Last month my town had an armed robbery in the middle of the night (I heard it on the scanner)_


Maybe its the fact that its a Crown Vic with whip antennas all over it and a spotlight????????????? Just a hunch here....but something stinks.


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## hydrive09 (Jul 11, 2009)

78thrifleman said:


> Good God... with that spelling and grammar, you must HAVE to work for yourself. Plus, going into work at 2-3AM, working for days at a time? What do you do, sell drugs?


Lol well I am not the best speller I know- I guess I forgot to run spellchecker on the title of the post haha. I also don't sell drugs! I am a cell phone sales / repair person (do everything from refurbish phones, to fix peoples broken phones, mostly liquid damaged phones) / computer tech / misc. electronics repair person. I just find that I am more productive when I work longer shifts.

Anything is possible with enough coffee! (Except remembering to run spell check on the title)


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## Eagle13 (Jun 12, 2008)

I am going to guess it is because you are shady.

But think about it, if you are one of the very few cars that travel a road where an officer is monitoring traffic, he is most likely running those few plates that do go by.

And it probably doesn't help that you have a bumper sticker that says "Sorry officer I thought you wanted to race!"


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## hydrive09 (Jul 11, 2009)

Just for the record...



LGriffin said:


> The wording of your statement leads me to believe that you have been arrested in the past


Well believe it or not, I have never been arrested! Maybe its suspicious that I was wondering why they ran me so much, but its just curiosity.



LGriffin said:


> but i'll bet you know what they're checking for...


No I actually dont know what they were checking it for, if I had any clue at all, I would not have made this post!

MM1799- No its just a portable one, no external antenna!

For the people who say I prob. drive like an ass- well the fact that they ran me 17 times and didn't issue me a single warning / ticket should prove I drive somewhat decent because as you can imagine, if a cop saw me driving like an ass and realized I was ran 17 times, they prob. wouldn't think twice about giving me a ticket.... that's my theory anyways!



Eagle13 said:


> And it probably doesn't help that you have a bumper sticker that says "Sorry officer I thought you wanted to race!"


Well, I just scraped that sticker off so lets check next month if the number of runs dropped any


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## 263FPD (Oct 29, 2004)

Here is the reality of it all. I don't need a reason nor do I need an excuse to run a plate. I run at least twenty to thirty plates on any given shift. 
The law allows it, so I do it. So your car was run 17 times. So what. There needs not be a reason for it. Happens to be that the trooper told you about it. Had he not, you would have never even known this. If you had the ability to run plates, you would be going to town doing so. Like you said, you heve not gotten 17 tickets, so who cares. BTW, if you want to make it an even 20, come to Framingham and we will be happy to run you three more times. I will bet though, that since your original post, you have been checked at least five times.


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## Eagle13 (Jun 12, 2008)

On top of that it is a good thing that your PD checks out a car in a lot where there aren't usually cars at 2-3AM. They may be familiar with the car and they may not remember it. The fact is that it is better to be safe than sorry. If there was a burglary going on and they ran a car that was in a parking lot at an unusual time, it may help them catch the offender. You see where I am going with this? Most officers are going to err on the side of caution. It is better to be thorough and safe rather than overlooking a shady car in an empty lot, or run a plate of a one of the few cars that actually pass a patrol in the early morning hours. They aren't picking on you. Your activities and hours are abnormal and put you in this position. That fact that you haven't been cited helps your situation though.

Try putting a sign or message on your car like this lady did:


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2009)

Pay or appeal.......... The directions are on the back.


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## 94c (Oct 21, 2005)

hydrive09 said:


> Last month my town had an armed robbery in the middle of the night (I heard it on the scanner), and I was going to get a coffee several hours later and on my way back I noticed a cop behind me.


A *real citizen* would have left the house in his boxer shorts and caught the guy. But I guess the guy didn't get caught because he wasn't robbing a coffee shop?

Is that what you're saying Mr. Citizen?????


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## csauce777 (Jan 10, 2005)

hydrive09 said:


> The officer asked me when the *last time I got pulled over* in Mass was, *(I assumed he meant for a violation)* *(He didnt, he meant last time you got stopped) *and I told him about *a year and a half ago*.
> 
> He then *asked me again* when the *last time I got pulled over* was, and I told him it *honestly (liar)* was *1.5 years ago.*
> 
> ...


By my math, you got stopped a minimum of 4 times in the past 2 years. With that said, I assume you drive a shitbox around in the middle of the night. Thats gets you attention in any city or town.


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2009)




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## 263FPD (Oct 29, 2004)

MSP75 said:


>


:L::L::L::L::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## 7costanza (Aug 29, 2006)

Question answered, another happy customer....and some of you wanted to close the Ask A Cop thread.


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