SAN ANTONIO – More than 100 people showed up at a San Antonio police-sponsored VIN etching on Wednesday.
VIN stands for vehicle identification number, and every car truck and van has one.
Getting that number etched onto your windows could make all the difference in getting a stolen car back, according to police.
Thousands of automobiles are stolen each year in San Antonio, police say. The top five most stolen vehicles are the Dodge Ram half-ton pickup, the Ford F-250 three-quarter-ton pickup, the Honda Civic, the Chevrolet Silverado pickup, and the Ford F-150 half-ton pickup, according to police figures.
Members of San Antonio police's Regional Auto Crimes Team were out near the HEB on S. New Braunfels Wednesday afternoon etching VINs into windows.
VINs are printed onto a sticker. The sticker gets placed on your cars windows, and a little acid is dabbed over each. After a few minutes, the acid etches the number into the glass.
A VIN is similar to a social security number, in that it's unique to each vehicle and can help police track down stolen cars, and the crooks who steal them, police say.
"It does help us catch the people who are doing it, but it also catches the people who are selling them," said Michelle Kleiss, with Regional Auto Crimes Team.
The entire process is free, and happens at different locations around the city about six times per year.