HN Explorer

Ask HN: Is there a legal way to do a reverse license plate lookup?

2 points by christophilus ↗ HN
We had a creepy, illegally tinted van show up in our neighborhood a few times. I want to find out who the guy is. He threatened to shoot me when I knocked on his window. Is there a legal way to get this info?

12 comments

[ 4.2 ms ] story [ 41.6 ms ] thread
freedude
Why would public information be illegal? Doesn't the guy use the roads you pay taxes for? When someone threatens you call the cops if you're unarmed.
necovek
And if you are armed and someone threatens you, you do what?
freedude
The same thing you would do when someone threatens your life and the safety and security of your family. Defend yourself and your family.

It doesn't mean I want to but I was placed in the position of responsibility to love and protect my spouse and children, not to rollover and die at the first sign of trouble.

necovek
People usually don't die at the first sign of trouble (I never died when I was threatened, and I never rolled over even if I was unarmed).

Plenty of people are bigmouths and quick to shut up when they realize they might get what they asked for.

Whether armed or unarmed, your best bet is calling the cops: that was my point. They are experienced in establishing whether there was intent of real harm, and providing unbiased evidence of illegal behaviour like threats to courts.

In most of the world, you using a weapon at the first "sign of trouble" would be considered an excessive response, and for good reason — which means that you might end up in more legal trouble than the person threatening you.

LinuxBender
We had a creepy, illegally tinted van show up in our neighborhood a few times. I want to find out who the guy is. He threatened to shoot me when I knocked on his window. Is there a legal way to get this info?

If taking the extremely high risk of approaching random shady looking vans wear a body cam. They sell them online. Or at least have your cell phone recording video and put it in a shirt pocket to act like a body cam. Live stream if possible in case they take or smash your phone. Others should also be recording you at a distance in case shady person drops you. Give the footage including license plates to the local authorities. I personally would also mention to dispatch that due to the dark windows you could not tell if they have a firearm. Other potential advice would depend on the laws of where you reside. I am not a lawyer just an internet armchair quarterback. Oh and that van is probably stolen, he is probably on drugs and in his mind you are probably in his turf. If you have a network of neighbors you trust be sure to also let them know of the existing risk.

Otherwise take rawgabbit's advice and stay clear of the drama. Just get video and pictures without a flash.

To answer your question some dodgy private investigators find questionable methods of looking up plates and will happily charge you way too much money to look up that stolen van.

rawgabbit
Take a picture of the vehicle. Call the police non-emergency number. Tell them you saw a suspicious vehicle and when you approached, the driver threatened you. Let the police handle the rest.
ClassyJacket
I'm sorry, what is a "creepy van"? What sort of crime is "showing up in our neighborhood"? Is it a private gated neighbourhood that outsiders aren't allowed into? What's the problem here? The way I read this you were made that some guy drove a van and he didn't actually do anything wrong until after you bothered him.
christophilus
It's a van that sits on the road for a few hours each time it shows up. Illegally tinted windows so you can't see in. Sunshades in the windshield, so you can't see the driver. Our neighborhood is near a high school and middle school (one block away), and the guy freaked out a handful of neighbors. The dude is sketchy.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
freedude
The only thing that really shows he is a menace is him threatening to shoot you. The other stuff is mostly cultural bias and sketchy behavior and worth little in your argument.
fargle
a private eye in most states can legally access the plate info so you could hire one, if it seems worth it. in line with the other posts, though this might be better for the police. this is probably really the way to go due to the threats. i mean, so what if you get a name and an address - then what? you were already threatened.

but in the cheaper, but legally grey area, you can usually lookup a plate for a few dollars if you have a "legitimate reason" such as the creep damaged your property or theft. that's a he-said-she-said thing, so ...

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/request-for-record-inform...

of course this is USA, California. Other US states are mostly similar.

there are 100s of online sites that are "private detectives" that will run a plate for a slightly larger fee. this may be faster and less grey than diy dmv requests.

if you are a real karen/ken you can post a pic of the van and plate to nextdoor, etc. and make a big post about the creepy van.