Police ridealong: Ghost plate crackdown on Long Island

Police ridealong: Ghost plate crackdown on Long Island

Suffolk County Sheriff?s Office is actively cracking down on the use of "ghost plates"?fraudulent or altered license plates used by drivers to avoid tolls, fines, and law enforcement. FOX 5 NY's Jodi Goldberg went on a recent ride-along with the sheriff's office, learning the extent of the problem and the risks associated with these plates.

NEW YORK - Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is actively cracking down on the use of "ghost plates" — fraudulent or altered license plates used by drivers to avoid tolls, fines and law enforcement.

FOX 5 NY's Jodi Goldberg's recent ride-along with the sheriff's office revealed the extent of the problem and the risks associated with these plates, as law enforcement agencies across the area partner to get these vehicles off the road.

Why are ghost plates an issue?

The backstory:

Ghost plates are a persistent issue in the area, used by drivers who want to avoid accountability, according to police.

These fraudulent plates can be temporary paper plates, or even dead plates that have been surrendered, which drivers put on their cars to prevent license plate readers from tracking them. According to Lt. Thomas Young of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office, these plates allow drivers to operate "completely off the grid," making it easier to commit crimes and avoid traffic violations and unpaid tolls.

What they're saying:

Lt. Young explained the nature of the fraudulent plates his team is looking for.

"These are Texas temporary plates, at least they purport to be. These are completely fraudulent," he said. "This is a dead plate. It doesn’t come back to anything, surrendered and people put it on their car so that if they’re going through toll plazas or passing a license plate reader - that comes back to nothing."

Young also highlighted the danger these plates pose to public safety, noting that they are often a sign of more serious issues.

"If you have a plate that you printed or got off Facebook Marketplace it makes going about and committing crimes a lot easier because you're almost completely off the grid," he said.

During a traffic stop for a missing front plate and suspended registration, Young explained how the enforcement can lead to a greater discovery.

"This type of enforcement is good to locate other stuff because when you're making contacts with people who are unregistered, and you have reasons to delve a little further, you are finding things like guns or drugs or people with warrants," he said.

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. emphasized the joint effort to tackle the problem.

"We’re in a partnership with many different agencies that are going after bad actors in our community," said Sheriff Toulon. He also issued a warning to drivers using ghost plates: "We will go after you, we will ticket, we will fine you."

By the numbers:

The crackdown on ghost plates is part of a larger multi-agency partnership. According to the MTA, this initiative has resulted in nearly 2,000 towed vehicles and approximately $11.5 million in fines so far this year. In Suffolk County alone, deputy sheriffs have issued over 300 summonses and made 15 arrests in the past month.