Font ResizePolice Chief J. Gregory Massak has announced that the state's Vin Etching Program is coming to town. It will be held on Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Shirley Fire Station.
In a July 4 memo to the Board of Selectmen, Massak said he had contacted the Massachusetts State Police Governor's Auto Theft Task Force to set it up.
He provided details at a recent selectmen's meeting.
The program is available to all residents.
For a fee of $10 cash, each participating vehicle will have its "distinctive" vehicle identification number etched into multiple windows, Massak said.
Participants can expect to get a 15-percent discount on comprehensive auto insurance, with certification documents provided.
The etched numbers will be almost as invisible as they are permanent and will not affect visibility, but they can be easily read from outside the vehicle.
The indelibly inscribed numbers can provide identification if a vehicle is stolen and the VIN number on the inner door has been gouged off, Massak said, helping to thwart thieves who strip stolen vehicles for parts. But the etchings will not mar the glass or affect vehicle warrantees.
Massak described the etching process as safe, quick and easy. The same could be said of the assembly-line entrance and exit strategy he's mapped out for the program, slated for Saturday, Sept. 8 from 9 a.m. 2 p.m.
Fire Chief Dennis Levesque "graciously offered" one of the drive-through fire bays
The only paperwork participants need to bring is the vehicle's registration, Massak said. And the $10 cash payment.
The statewide program has been around for quite awhile, Selectman Andy Deveau pointed out. "I had it done on my truck" several years ago, he said, and it takes only about 15 or 20 minutes.
