Big plates don’t prevent crime

ENLARGING the motorcycle plates is a faulty solution in solving crimes committed by suspects that are mostly riding in tandem. We have seen quite a number of videos taken by CCTV cameras. If the good Sen. Dick Gordon thinks that large license plates will deter these criminals then he badly underestimated what these hoodlums can do.

License plates can be covered or removed in the commission of crime. It’s as simple as that. The simplistic solution of replacing the standard license plates with bigger ones will not wash. Expect the millions of motorcycle enthusiasts therefore to stage those protests.

In Davao City, then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte replaced the Jurassic CCTV cameras with High Definition models that capture images from afar. This upgrade was done to better equip the 911 network of the City Government. The gruesome murder of well-known a restaurateur and golfer was solved in less than 24 hours because of HD CCTV cameras. A kidnap-for-ransom try by an Indian national who victimized his compatriot was solved in less than 8 hours.  What we are saying here is that local government units should invest their intelligence funds on HD CCTV cams to have clear recordings of incidents and facilitate solution of crime.  

In Vietnam where motorcycles seem to outnumber its population, riders are using either open or half-face helmets in stark contrast to the full-face types which are popularly used in the Philippines.  Riders are easily identifiable because their faces are exposed. 

A riding-in-tandem or solo rider felon can remove, change or alter his huge license plates but he cannot do the same to his face.  He may wear mask but it’s now all up to the law enforcement agency to draft the implementing rules to define the dos and the don’ts and wearing mask can be a violation.

I can imagine motorcycle-riding criminals being tickled to the bone with this naïve method of solving crime. The hardcore among them could easily beat the Land Transportation Office in coming out with those crime prevention license plates.

Sorry Senator Gordon but I have serious reservations with your offered solution.