I rarely tweet out how I do stories but as I sat there I thought to myself, “This is ridiculous. Most countries issue diplomatic license plates to accredited diplomats.Per the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, these are special vehicle registration plates which typically have distinctive features to allow diplomatic vehicles to be distinguished from other vehicles by police and other bodies, allowing them to give diplomatic vehicles special treatment and … Next, a diplomat must register their vehicle with the Department of State. The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) requires that all passenger vehicles have a license plate. Each time I got a different person on the phone who would type in my tracking number and then go “Huh. They often feature the letters "CD" (for "corps diplomatique"), "D" (for "diplomat") or prefix of international organisations with diplomatic privileges, such as "EU" (for "European Union") and "OSCE" (for Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe"). Since 1979, motor vehicles operated by foreign embassies, high commissions, consulates and international organisations have been issued unique vehicle registration marks with a distinguishing format of three numbers, space, letter D or X, space … New York City September … That system is host country-specific and varies largely from country to country. In just the last five years, diplomats have shoplifted, skipped rent, allegedly brandished knives in street fights and led high-speed chases that … So I started tweeting about it – adding @StateDept to some of my tweets. A separate system is used for vehicles belonging to the diplomats of foreign countries with license plate from the host country. Critics of these plates say that operators of these vehicles abuse these privileges, often parking in illegal spaces and breaking vehicular law without fear of repercussion. The News4 I-Team spent six years fighting for the list of foreign diplomats pulled over for breaking our local laws. Having grown up in the D.C. area, I was always curious about how often foreign diplomats get pulled over for breaking our local laws. SUMMARY: Minnesota License Plates. Colorado’s motor vehicles divisions offer more than 100 variants of designated license plates, from vanity plates … Types of Louisiana License Plates. For example, there might be a "D" for diplomat, "S" for administrative staff or "C" for consular personnel. the first group of three numbers.. State also only sent me records from the end of 2002 until 2010 – meaning my records were at least four years old. Proceeds are divided equally between the Red Sox Foundation, which is the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox, and the Jimmy Fund, which supports patient care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. #FOIAFriday motivated me to check in on my federal FOIA request I've been waiting on for 5 yrs 7 mos. #FOIAFriday. With its captivating green, yellow, and red color combo, New Mexico's license plate lives up to the state's nickname, the "Land of Enchantment." In order to fulfill the enforcement provision of this mandate, State Dept. While we’re legally allowed to cite them we usually work under the immunity clause that they have with their embassy and just give them a warning. Why did North Dakota change the license plate? At the same time, I started a formal appeals process with the State Department over what it withheld. By David Yanofsky. I don’t know what I didn’t get, State wouldn’t tell me, but I know I didn’t get something that’s important because State used the “Foreign Relations” exemption outlined in Executive Order 13526. Most countries issue diplomatic license plates to accredited diplomats. You can see what I wrote here: FOIA Appeal Letter. These are the plates that instigated this whole license plate project, as we have to now look at these every day when we drive. Editor of code, visuals, and data. Plates are currently issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue through its Division of Motor Vehicles. It was a Friday. All of these cars have distinctive blue and red license plates issued by the US Department of State, which has an office charged with registering and maintaining records on … I do not see how your neighbor who may be an ex-police officer would receive diplomat license plates. That’s when I knew I really, really wanted whatever it was they had. I received a letter in September that a panel made up of three ambassadors determined I should receive more up-to-date records. President Biden, Vice President Harris Sworn In, Virginia Democrats Reflect on Inauguration Day, Moving Forward, Copyright © 2021 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. As part of my job as an investigative reporter, I typically send off one or two Freedom of Information Act requests a week. Instead, I thought I would get something back in six months to a year, typical for other federal agencies I had worked with in the past. I now have a special phone number to call where they actually pick up the phone and call you back. 50 min and counting. Show your colors with a Red Sox/Jimmy Fund license plate. Favorite Answer Red license plates are given to members of the diplomatic corp. That’s when I was told, under local FOIA laws, police departments in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. are not allowed to hand out tickets because of the “privacy exemption.”, But I got them anyway. 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