When I moved my car from California to Massachusetts ten years ago, I had the California plate stolen while I was in the RMV parking lot. They had taken the screws that attach the plate, so I had to drive to the auto parts store to get some more. On the way, it occurred to me that I should report the theft, so I called the police station from the store. As near as I remember, the conversation went like this:
ENugent: I’d like to report a stolen license plate.
Policeman: OK, ma’am, you need to come to the station to fill out a report, and we’ll give you a form to take to the RMV so you can get a new plate.
ENugent: I don’t actually need a new plate - the old one was stolen while I was in the RMV getting a new one.
Policeman: Your plate was stolen while you were in the RMV?
ENugent: That’s right. I brought the car from California and I reregistered it in Massachusetts.
Policeman: Are you sure the RMV didn’t remove the plate as a service for you?
ENugent: The RMV doesn’t take the plates off cars parked in their lot!
Policeman: It just seems like an awful coincidence, ma’am, your plate being taken while you were getting a new one.
ENugent: It’s not a coincicence - the thief must have hoped I wouldn’t report it, since I would have the replacement plate already.
Policeman: But how would a thief know you were getting new plates?
ENugent: I assume he figured there was a good chance that a car parked in the RMV lot with out-of-state plates was getting new ones. Besides, no one would look twice at someone taking off plates in the lot there.
Policeman: There are lots of reason that people park in the RMV lot, ma’am; I don’t see how he could have been sure you were getting new plates. Before you fire a report, you need to check with the RMV to see if they have the plate.
ENugent: You want me to go back to the RMV to see if they took the license plate off my car?
Policeman: Yes, ma’am, I need you to do that before you can make a report. After you do that, you can come down to the station; we don’t take stolen-plate reports over the phone.
So I went back to the RMV and talked to the policeman guarding the lot, who rolled his eyes and assured me that no, the RMV does not remove plates from random vehicles parked in their lot. Finally, I went to the station and reported the missing plate, patiently explaining that I understood that they couldn’t get me a new California plate - I’d have to go to the California DMV for that. I didn’t need a new plate; I had a Massachusetts plate. All I wanted to do was let them know the old plate number so they’d have it listed as stolen. It was a lot of hassle to make me go through, especially since there was really no benefit to me in reporting the stolen plate.