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Automobile Theft Prevention Authority Offers Free Vehicle VIN Etching

27 October 1998

Automobile Theft Prevention Authority Offers Free Vehicle VIN Etching; Vehicle Identification Numbers Etched Onto Vehicle Windows as a Means of Theft Prevention

    MECHANICSBURG, Pa., Oct. 26 -- The Automobile Theft
Prevention Authority (ATPA) will be holding a free VIN etching event on
Saturday, October 31 from 9 a.m. until noon at the Capital City Mall in
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
    This is the first-ever VIN etching in central Pennsylvania.  VIN etching
is a proven theft deterrent, where the vehicle's Vehicle Identification Number
(VIN) is etched on to all vehicle windows.  Would-be thieves resist stealing a
vehicle that is VIN etched because that vehicle is more easily identified and,
if stolen, all glass must be replaced in order to remove traces of the VIN.
    VIN etching will be done free of charge by ATPA staff and members of The
Cumberland County District Attorney's Office Auto Theft Unit, The Harrisburg
City Police Auto Theft Unit, and The York County District Attorney's Office
Auto Theft Unit, as well as volunteers from State Farm and Nationwide
Insurance.
    Pre-event questions should be directed to ATPA Public Relations Director
Sara McLin, at 717-975-9074.