Currently, Oakland parking techs do not have the ability to run plates to see if a car is stolen. As a result, a stolen car may be dumped and sit, accumulating parking tickets, until it is eventually reported as abandoned. The abandoned auto detail DOES have the ability to run plates. When the abandoned auto detail comes out to put a warning sign on it or tow it, they THEN check the plate. Meanwhile, the owner and OPD have been looking for the car. Stolen and dumped cars often sit for months before being reported and towed. When I asked our local OPD captain why parking techs couldn't run plates, he said a computer interface was lacking or something like that.

Another thing that should be changed is that Oakland residents cannot go online and enter their license plate number to see if their car has citations, the way San Francisco residents and residents of many other cities can. In order to pay a ticket online in Oakland, you must have the citation number. If your car has been stolen, looking to see if your car has been ticketed can help locate the stolen and dumped car. In other cities like SF, you can search by license plate. If your car has been ticketed and you've lost the citation, you should be able to go online and search by your license plate and pay the citation online.

I was excited to see that Oakland is now offering "Parking Citation and Residential Parking Permit Alert System". From the Oakland Parking Assistance homepage:

This system allows citizens to create an account by registering their license plate and/or residential parking permit account number to receive email alerts such as:

When new citations are issued
Before late penalties are applied
After a mail-in payment is applied
Residential parking permit renewal reminder

HOWEVER, I was dismayed to see that a current or old citation number is required. From the Oakland Parking Assistance homepage:

You will need the following information to create a new account:

Parking Citation Alerts

License plate number of vehicle you wish to register
A citation number issued to the vehicle (current or past)
Issue date of citation
Zip code of registered owner (from vehicle registration

Why not just have alerts based on the license plate?