Front license plate important tool for law enforcement

and solve this heinous crime.

Our officers found her cellphone dumped along a road near the park but didn’t know what happened to Reagan’s car. Finding that car was key to identifying and capturing Reagan’s killer.

To find it, officers went through records of license plate readers and one of those readers captured the front license plate of Reagan’s car. It was found in an area of the city of Columbus that had no connection to Reagan. It is important to emphasize that the license plate reader only captured the front plate.

That car had cigarette butts inside. Reagan never smoked or allowed others to smoke in her car. The prompt discovery of her car led to DNA evidence that eventually led to the arrest and conviction of Brian Golsby. It is very probable that we would not have found her car if it didn’t have a front license plate.

This case makes it clear that having a front plate on vehicles is important for law enforcement in Ohio, and why I am a vocal supporter of the #Keepthefrontplateohio effort. Plenty of my colleagues who work in law enforcement — including the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association and members of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police — agree. By removing the front plate, you significantly reduce law enforcement’s ability to identify a vehicle that has been involved in a crime.

According to the National Sheriffs’ Association, motor vehicles are involved in 70% of serious crimes in the U.S., including murder, assault, robbery and drug smuggling. Additionally, without a front license plate, it is very easy for criminals to intentionally park their vehicle to make it very challenging to impossible for law enforcement officers to be able to see the rear plate.

Investigating violent crime is not the only reason Ohio should keep the front license plate. There are other advantages as well. For example, school bus drivers are able to record the license plate of motorists who illegally pass a school bus with activated red lights flashing. This is a serious offense because it endangers schoolchildren. Removing the front license plate makes it more difficult for school bus drivers to identify and report these offenders.

Front license plates are crucial identification tools for both law enforcement and the public responding to Amber and Silver alerts. The list goes on and on.

In 2014, a specially appointed legislative committee studied front plate removal and overwhelmingly said such a move simply based on aesthetic issues would adversely affect public safety. To my knowledge, there has been little public discussion with this recent initiative. Proponents of removing the front license plate cite aesthetics. This is not justification to eliminate this highly effective law enforcement aid.

Police work can be dangerous and very difficult. Please don’t make it harder. Reverse this poor decision on behalf of Ohio’s law enforcement community and its law-abiding citizens. Restore the front license plate on Ohio vehicles by supporting Senate Bill 179 introduced by Republican state Sens. Joe Uecker of Loveland and Jay Hottinger of Newark.