California Department of Motor Vehicles Investigations

Investigators of the California Department of Motor Vehicles are fully certified California peace officers. This means that they enforce laws, investigate crimes, arrest violators, testify in court, carry weapons, serve warrants, and the list goes on. You may be asking yourself just what it is a DMV cop is doing to protect citizens of California. The answer? More than you think; and more than they get credit for.

Think of it like this. Anybody who wants to do anything in California needs some form of identification. Where do you think that identification came from? That's right! The Department of Motor Vehicles. Remember all the personal information you had to submit just to get a driver's license? Home address, phone number, citizenship status, height, weight, eye color, hair color...just so you could operate a motor vehicle. The collection of information is so in depth and organized that the DMV database is the very database which law enforcement agencies base their information off of when your license gets checked out by cops when you get pulled over.

Why is it important to know who is policing all of those identification cards? Because with a state issued identification card a person can buy a home, a car, lease an apartment, open a bank account, etc. What if that state issued identification card is fraudulent and somebody slapped your information next to their picture? Common sense would tell you to file a police report. Unfortunately, many local agencies do not have the resources to investigate these crimes, nor will it do any good in the long run to just find a single offender.

The DMV Investigations unit is tasked with bringing down counterfeit identification card rings hoping to stop the production and dissemination of multiple fraudulent identification cards. In this day and age with identity theft being a rapidly growing problem, Investigators of the DMV are on the front lines taking down fake I.D. pushers and taking their products off the street.

Other crimes which the DMV investigates are mostly vehicle related. Since the California Department of Motor Vehicles is the lead licensing agency in California for car dealerships, the also investigate dealership fraud (ripping off the consumer) and un-licensed businesses. So called "chop-shops" are also targets of the DMV Investigators. Chop shops are underground vehicle dismantling services in which car thieves dismantle stolen cars and sell off the parts for illegal profit.

DMV Investigators may not have their own reality television show (yet) or even a fictional drama based on their job, but that doesn't mean that their work isn't exciting or rewarding. DMV Investigators work in conjunction with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to enforce laws which fall under their jurisdiction.

Sources:

Investigations Offices. California Department of Motor Vehicles.

DMV Investigators Bust Unlicensed Auto Dealers in San Jose. California Department of Motor Vehicles.

DMV Investigators. California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.