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Written by: Dan Caponetti
On April 14, Campus Connections and the Bentley University Police Department worked together to sponsor an event called VIN Etching Day. VIN, which stands for Vehicle Identification Number, allows owners of cars and trucks to easily identify individual motor vehicles in the event that they get stolen.
University Police set up in the Miller Hall lower parking deck, marking cars to prevent vehicle thefts on campus. The process involves chemically etching unique serial numbers into the corner of every window of the customer’s car.
Each serial number is composed of a complex series of coded letters and numbers used to identify the vehicle.
University Police and the owner of the vehicle record the numbers so that the car would be easier for police to locate in the event of theft.
The service costs a total of $15, which covers the cost of tagging the cars. The procedure also allows participants to save up to 15 percent on their comprehensive auto insurance. Customers were provided with a certificate for their insurance company.
“It’s a theft deterrent,” said one University Police officer while handling orders. “If someone were to steal one of these cars, it could be identified by the number on the window. Also, the thief would have to change every window so it could not be identified by the police.”
“Campus Connections asked us to do it for faculty and staff, so we decided to extend it for student as well,” she continued. She also noted that the program was not in response to any on-campus thefts.
Orders came in throughout the day, as the program lasted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Campus Police estimated that they tagged between 60-70 cars.
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