JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — In an effort to crackdown on expired license plates, temporary tags and more, Jefferson County Sheriff deputies and partnering law enforcement agencies were on special patrol Friday, Feb. 2.  

The enforcement comes in the aftermath of COVID-19 when licensing offices had restricted hours and staffing, in addition to people losing their jobs caused by the pandemic.

“With the false narrative of over-policing and the nonsense of decriminalizing everything in the rearview mirror, we know we must hold offenders accountable for compliance,” Sheriff Dave Marshak said. “It’s time for action.”

In 2023, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department issued 2,288 vehicle license citations, such as failure to register a motor vehicle, operate a motor vehicle with no plates, expired plates and used vehicle license of another.

The department also issued 11,069 vehicle license warnings last year.

Deputy Zach Faulkner told Spectrum News the number of complaints from people about expired license plates, temporary tags and unregistered vehicles have been going on for a long time.

“You can give a citation, doesn’t always mean it’s going to be fixed,” he said. “I think upping the enforcement on that specifically may get some people into compliance.”

To cover up expired license plate tabs, Faulkner said drivers will color the sticker themselves to make it look different or put a piece of tape over the date.

“If we run a plate that doesn’t return on file, just because you have a 24’ on the license tab doesn’t mean that you’re automatically good to go,” he said. “It’s unique what people do.”

Deputies also handed out amnesty vouchers to eligible drivers who can receive a discount of almost 60% on fines and costs for vehicle license citations through the month of February.

Media members were invited to ride along with deputies to capture footage across Jefferson County. 

Other participating law enforcement agencies were the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Arnold, Pevely, Festus, Herculaneum, Crystal City, De Soto, Hillsboro, Eureka and Byrnes Mill police departments.

Spectrum News rode with Faulkner Friday morning.

Over the course of the morning, Faulkner pulled over a car off Highway 30 with no rear license plate. The driver had recently purchased the car and was in the process of getting new license plates. Faulkner issued a warning and made a note into the department’s computer system.

Faulkner said Missouri is one of the few states that require cars to have license plates in the front and back.

Faulkner noted that if someone is pulled over for an expired temporary tag, the officer will take it off of the vehicle and return it to the Department of Revenue.

A few hours later, he made another traffic stop of a vehicle with license plates registered to another car. After entering the driver’s license information into the computer system, the driver was wanted for a speeding ticket. The driver was taken into custody.

Faulkner told Spectrum News that he conducted five stops earlier that morning and ceased at least one temporary tag.

In St. Louis County, 3,454 expired license plate tickets and 6,352 improper registration tickets were issued in 2023. In January of this year, 618 improper registration tickets were issued where 377 of those were for expired state license plates, according to police.

The number of citations issued on Friday across Jefferson County will be released Monday.