Al-Rawi: Only 7% of stolen cars retrieved

ATTORNEY GENERAL Faris Al-Rawi lamented that only seven per cent of stolen cars in TT are ever retrieved, piloting the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2019 in the House of Representatives on Friday.

He made this point to justify proposals for a new radio frequency (RF) type of licence plate, designed to curb car theft and stolen car fraud.

While anyone can install their own licence plate at present, the bill says these will be made and issued only by the State which is deemed their owner.

“Fraud is rampant. If you look at the number of stolen cars in TT it is actually quite spectacular. For 2015-2020 we have had 3,535 stolen cars.

“ You know how many have been detected? Two hundred and seventy-five (275.) That is seven per cent of stolen cars.”

Al-Rawi said people have been able to hide these stolen cars simply by changing the licence plate, as they can legally do now.

“We all have stories, ‘Well I saw my number plate on another car’ or ‘I saw somebody with a number plate I recognise that is not the number plate that should be on the car.

“We all have these stories. That’s why the detection rate is so low.

“With the RF tags you can’t imitate the tag because it is produced in a unique way by the licensing authority.” He said vehicular details lodged in the plates can be read by electronic sensors placed at various locations. Al-Rawi also promised a tintometer device to adjudge car the legality of various car tints.

The House passed the bill without amendment, following the Senate which had unanimously passed it in May.