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09-15-05, 01:07 PM
Since New Jersey motor-vehicle officials stepped up efforts to verify identities, almost 1,500 people have been arrested for presenting bogus documents to get drivers' licenses.
Of the 1,907 arrests at the Motor Vehicle Commission's 46 offices in the two years ending Sept. 1, officials said yesterday, 1,499 were document-related. The remaining 408 included cases of disorderly conduct and aggravated assault.
The total includes the arrests of 30 agency employees, most of whom officials said had helped customers obtain driver's licenses by fraudulent means.
Motor-vehicle officials said they did not know the status of the cases.
"Once the arrest is made, it's up to the local police department how to deal with it," agency spokesman Gordon Deal said.
The state began recording arrests around the time it launched the six-point identification program, which requires drivers to provide one primary document, worth four points, plus one or two other documents, worth one to three points each, to get a license.
It was part of a $200 million effort to overhaul an agency once known for long lines, unfriendly staff, lax security, and easily duplicated licenses.
Staff have been trained to identify fake documents; investigators and surveillance cameras have been added; and police officers now patrol 29 of the agency's centers. The state also has rolled out digital licenses with almost two dozen security features to stump counterfeiters.
But officials yesterday called the six-point identification verification system "the cornerstone of our security enhancement efforts."
"The six-point system has turned up the pressure on those trying to obtain fraudulent records," motor-vehicles chief Sharon Harrington said. "We want people to understand the importance of the six-point system and the consequences of trying to beat it."
Officials said most of those arrested were undocumented immigrants. Fake Social Security cards were the single leading cause of arrest, they said, but customers have also been caught with phony insurance ID cards, driver's licenses, immigration papers, birth certificates and passports. Officials said counterfeiters had sold entire "six-point packages" on the street for as much as $5,000.
The center in East Orange, Essex County, recorded the most arrests, with 205, followed by Somerville in Somerset County (151) and Cardiff in Atlantic County (150).
Locally, the office in Mount Holly led with 45 arrests. In West Deptford, 25 arrests were made, while the Haddon Heights office had 22 and the Camden office 21.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/12651184.htm
Of the 1,907 arrests at the Motor Vehicle Commission's 46 offices in the two years ending Sept. 1, officials said yesterday, 1,499 were document-related. The remaining 408 included cases of disorderly conduct and aggravated assault.
The total includes the arrests of 30 agency employees, most of whom officials said had helped customers obtain driver's licenses by fraudulent means.
Motor-vehicle officials said they did not know the status of the cases.
"Once the arrest is made, it's up to the local police department how to deal with it," agency spokesman Gordon Deal said.
The state began recording arrests around the time it launched the six-point identification program, which requires drivers to provide one primary document, worth four points, plus one or two other documents, worth one to three points each, to get a license.
It was part of a $200 million effort to overhaul an agency once known for long lines, unfriendly staff, lax security, and easily duplicated licenses.
Staff have been trained to identify fake documents; investigators and surveillance cameras have been added; and police officers now patrol 29 of the agency's centers. The state also has rolled out digital licenses with almost two dozen security features to stump counterfeiters.
But officials yesterday called the six-point identification verification system "the cornerstone of our security enhancement efforts."
"The six-point system has turned up the pressure on those trying to obtain fraudulent records," motor-vehicles chief Sharon Harrington said. "We want people to understand the importance of the six-point system and the consequences of trying to beat it."
Officials said most of those arrested were undocumented immigrants. Fake Social Security cards were the single leading cause of arrest, they said, but customers have also been caught with phony insurance ID cards, driver's licenses, immigration papers, birth certificates and passports. Officials said counterfeiters had sold entire "six-point packages" on the street for as much as $5,000.
The center in East Orange, Essex County, recorded the most arrests, with 205, followed by Somerville in Somerset County (151) and Cardiff in Atlantic County (150).
Locally, the office in Mount Holly led with 45 arrests. In West Deptford, 25 arrests were made, while the Haddon Heights office had 22 and the Camden office 21.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/12651184.htm