Lehigh County

Lehigh County Auto Theft Task Force has scheduled a free vehicle identification number etching event 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 18 at the Whitehall Township Public Works Building, 3219 MacArthur Road, Whitehall.

The event is open to all vehicle owners in Lehigh County, and there is no limit to the number of vehicles motorists can bring to the event.

VIN etching is the process of chemically etching a vehicle’s unique identification number on all windows and sunroofs.

The process does not harm the windows and does not detract from the appearance of the vehicle.

Detectives who do the VIN engraving, which takes minutes, use special software and a dot-matrix printer to create stencils with the identification number on them.

Stencils then are applied to each of the vehicle’s windows and are dabbed with an etching solution.

The stencils are removed, and the glass is cleaned with glass cleaner.

The number remains behind and is lightly etched into the glass.

The process takes approximately five minutes, depending on the number of windows.

VIN-etching deters thieves from stealing a vehicle.

If someone steals a VIN-etched vehicle, the thief will have to replace all the windows or deface the glass to remove the etching so the vehicle can’t be identified as being stolen.