PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A Portsmouth woman is speaking out after she said her license plates were stolen on two separate occasions.
A spokesperson at the Portsmouth Police Department said that there have been 96 reports of license plate thefts in the city so far this year.
Iesha Criswell said she was a victim of this crime recently.
“I was very frustrated,” Criswell said. “I was honestly afraid to walk to my car at night, specifically, but very frustrated that I have to replace this.”
Criswell said after her plates were stolen the first time last year she made a police report, got new plates and kept an eye on them going forward. But a few months later, they were stolen again.
“I left work and noticed that my plate was missing, and I was like, ‘Oh, man, they got me again,” Criswell said.
Police say that thieves often use stolen plates to conceal who a car is registered to while committing crimes, and to avoid paying tolls.
Cliff Lent, the president of the security consulting company M7 Solutions, added there are ways to minimize the chances of this happening to car owners.
“Park in [well-lit] areas, have an outdoor camera if you can,” Lent said. “Have an automatic light over your car so that if there’s motion, it will illuminate that car,”
Police say if you have your license plate stolen, report it immediately.
