I was pulled over by a cop last night.because of a broken tailight.asked for my license,reg and ins.all normal

Question

when he came back to the car he had a clipboard kinda thing and asked me:my ss# what kind of work i do ,where i was born etc.bu he didnt give me anything.i said do i get a copy he said no just fix the tailight,well i didnt get a ticket but what was he filling out?was it a field report or something?never happened before.any help out there?

Answer 1

Go to the police station and find out more about it.  There was no reason why your S.S. # was taken.  Beware of idenity theft.  I would highly question this procedure.  Go to credit report.com and get a free credit report.  You never know, times are hard and people are desperate.  Good Luck!

Answer 2

Have you ever looked at how many people in the USA have your EXACT same name ? I checked mine and there are at least  135 men that have my EXACT same name.

Now, think about why he might have been trying to see if YOU  were one of the ones, with that exact same name , that is wanted by some Police agency, somewhere in the USA ? By asking about your  SS number, where you were born ( state )  and other identifying information he was trying to eliminate you  as  a possible  suspect.

The fact that he  DIDN'T cite you for the tail light tells me that he was just doing his job, part of which is to be suspicious of people he deals with . He was trying to make sure that you aren't a wanted criminal.

Jim B. Toronto.

Answer 3

It could be they were trying to confirm who you were, as your name may have matched a warrant.  Obviously it wasn't you as you were able to ask this question.

It may have been a field contact card.

However, the possibility of ID theft is there.  Call the police department, and ask to speak to a supervisor.  Explain what happened and see if that is in fact their procedure.  If it is, see if they can verify that it was one of their officers that pulled you over.  If not, ask to report a possible ID theft.

Answer 4

It is not uncommon for an officer to request your SSN or place of birth.  When he ran your license through dispatch (or his MDT if his patrol car was equipped with one) it's entirely possible a "hit" was found on your name (meaning someone with your same/similar name is wanted by an agency).  Officers can further investigate to confirm your identity (SSN, place of birth, etc are great ways to do this as they are commonly listed on warrants or ATLs for missing persons or persons wanted for questioning).

That's my theory as to why he wanted more info.  You can call the agency just to make sure, though.  No harm in doing that.

Answer 5

Hey that is weird!

Last month I was pulled out of my truck at gunpoint by 4 deputy sheriffs!  My truck and I matched a description of a robber that had just ripped of an Applebees!  Worst part...a lot of the people that work with me saw me spread eagle in the middle of county road 13!  LOL...funny now, not so much then!  I still get razzed at work!

Peace,

Will

Answer 6

It's called a 'Field Contact Sheet'....

Lots of departments use them for identification purposes only.

Answer 7

i would not worry about it. it could be common procedure. if a ticket was not issued then your name was ran in ncic to check for warrants. he may have asked for your social becuase there was a warrant for someone with your name and birthday. lots of times warrants placed on persons without complete information such as an address or a description of the person. and may just have a social security number or vice versa. just be thankful that he didnt issue a ticket. the police must then write a narrative on what occurred and why they gathered the information. (depends on what department policies are)

Answer 8

More than likely it was just a field report, Police are required to document EVERYTHING they do, the officer was letting you off with a warning and was documenting said actions and why.

Answer 9

Call the police station and talk to someone with authority.  Tell them what the cop did.  That is identity theft, potentially.  And I have never heard of not getting a written warning for a tail light.  Something is not right there.

Answer 10

He probably plans on stealing your identity. h**l, he may not even have been a real cop.

Answer 11

well if he has  reason enough to pull you over then he has the right to see your ID and everything, though  I find it really odd that he would ask you all of that. That is a little strange because I have been pulled over many times for speeding (believe me) and not once has any of that ever came up.

Answer 12

In my jurisdiction they are called Field Interview Reports (FIR's).  Usually they are used when either someone has requested it (like if someone was looking for your type of car in relation to a crime) or if he thought it was odd you being in the area (like if a crime were to occur) etc.  Sometimes a FIR is required when the officer doesn't write a ticket.  It shows they are still working despite not writing a ticket.  I wouldn't worry about it.  It's perfectly normal.  Every jurisdiction in my area has something like a FIR.

Answer 13

Yes, this has happened to me before also. It seems when they decide not to give out a ticket, they get your personal information.

They have reports to file. They called it in when they pulled you over, and they need some kind of proof they are doing their job. Yeah, it seems weird, but at least you didnt get a ticket.  

Answer 14

that's the process!  They get all your info in case you may have a warrant for your arrest.  Be thankful you didn't get a ticket

Answer 15

There was probably a warrant for someone with the same name and general information, so he was verifying that it wasn't you.

Answer 16

He was probably just making record of the verbal warning he gave you. I think most departments would issue you a written warning as well but perhaps not.

He also could've just been doing what police do best...being nosey. lol  

Answer 17

Something does not feel right and you are correct in questioning this.

An officer runs your license and registration and that tells him if everything is valid or if you have a warrent. Social Security # and where you were born? Motor vehicles has all of that.

In my state licenses have customer ID numbers not social security numbers. The cop can't check social security. Where you were born? It means nothing. Where you work is out of line unless it was an odd hour and maybe they are having problems with various things.

Are you hispanic or an arab? Where I live they have given the police the right to enquire as to immigration status. If that is the case it would explain much.

Regardless of anything you should do as others have said...... call the local police station and ask them about it.

Answer 18

I believe you should call the police station and ask if that is common procedure.  It doesn't sound correct to me.  

Answer 19

They will ask for license, proof of insurance and registration everytime you get stopped.