CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — You place a decal on your license plate, expecting it to be there the next time you come out to your car. But according to the Clay County Sheriff's Office, in Clay County alone, 10 to 20 people a month are noticing theirs have been stolen.
Deputies say the thieves use the decals on their own car's plate to cover an expired decal. Emilio Ramirez said he's heard about it happening and does something specific to his decal when putting it on.
"You just take a razor blade and go across in an X, so if they try to take it off, it comes off in pieces not in one strip," said Ramirez.
He believes that will help deter thieves.
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"To get them things off is quite hard," said Ramirez.
Deputies said another hard task is catching the thieves who stole them.
"The only way to catch them is to catch them in the act. When law enforcement comes into contact with them is when they stopped them for a traffic violation and discovered the tag they've run is expired," says Sgt. Eric Twisdale.
Twisdale said there's no deterrent that will work 100 percent, but he believes there is a way to make it harder for thieves to steal them.
"If you do have several years' worth of registration decals on your tag, go and scrape them off and attach the decal to the tag directly to make it more difficult to remove from the tag itself," said Twisdale.
We reached out to the Florida DMV, and they say if your decal gets stolen, file a police report and take that to your local DMV. They will replace your decal for free.