§ 223 — Motor vehicle theft prevention program

§ 223. Motor vehicle theft prevention program. 1. The commissioner is\nhereby authorized and directed to establish a motor vehicle theft\nprevention program within the department which shall have trained motor\nvehicle investigators and police officers participating in it.\n 2. It shall be the duty of such investigators to conduct detailed\ninvestigations, in cooperation with law enforcement officials, of those\nentities which may be possible sources for the disposal of stolen\nvehicles or major component parts; to determine the reliability of\napplicants required to be registered under provisions of the vehicle and\ntraffic law; to provide assistance to law enforcement personnel in\ndetermining sources of outlets for stolen motor vehicles and stolen\nmotor vehicle parts; to cooperate with law enforcement personnel\nrelative to the investigation of organized motor vehicle theft rings; to\nexamine motor vehicles prior to the issuance of a New York state motor\nvehicle title at the discretion of the commissioner; and to inspect\nmotor vehicles for which a notice of acquisition is required to be filed\npursuant to section four hundred twenty-nine of this chapter whenever\nsuch a vehicle is to be registered for use upon the public highway.\n 3. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of the\ndivision of criminal justice services, shall establish a motor vehicle\ntheft prevention program to be known as the "Watch Your Car Program,"\nwhich shall include the issuance of official decals to identify motor\nvehicles that are not normally operated between the hours of 1:00 A.M.\nand 5:00 A.M. Participation in the program shall be voluntary in nature\nand shall involve the following:\n (a) In the presence of a duly authorized police officer in any law\nenforcement agency participating in such program, the registered owner\nof a motor vehicle shall sign an informed consent statement indicating\nthat the motor vehicle registered to such owner is not normally operated\nbetween the hours of 1:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M. The form of such informed\nconsent statement shall be promulgated by the commissioner after\nconsultation with the commissioner of the division of criminal justice\nservices.\n (b) (i) Upon signing such informed consent statement, the registered\nowner shall be issued decals approved by the commissioner and such\ndecals shall be affixed to the owner's vehicle in a conspicuous place as\nprescribed by the commissioner. The decals shall be issued by the law\nenforcement agency participating in the program.\n (ii) The law enforcement agency issuing the decals shall make a record\nof the decals issued to each registered owner. Such records shall be\nmaintained by the law enforcement agencies participating in the program\nand shall be available to the commissioner, to the superintendent of\nstate police, to the commissioner of the division of criminal justice\nservices and to law enforcement agencies.\n (c) Informed consent statement forms shall be available at all\nparticipating law enforcement agencies throughout the state. The\ncommissioner may accept the format used for the decal and application\nused by local police officials in municipalities that implemented such\nprograms prior to the effective date of this subdivision.\n 4. The commissioner shall, no later than January first, nineteen\nhundred eighty-two, submit to the governor and the legislature a report\non the results and operation of the motor vehicle theft prevention\nprogram.\n 5. The expenses incurred by the commissioner in implementing the motor\nvehicle theft prevention program created by this section shall be funded\nfrom revenues collected pursuant to sections four hundred fifteen-a,\nfour hundred twenty-one, subdivision five of section four hundred\ntwenty-three-a and four hundred thirty of this chapter.\n