Solem said some loopholes in licensing procedures will be closed when the department begins issuing the new licenses and taking photos and thumbprints at the beginning of the process.
"But this is a problem that's going to be with us," he added. "Government does something and the crooks figure a way around it and then government catches up. It goes on and on."
Scattaglia said much of the counterfeiting may have its roots south of the border, but no one knows for sure because investigators have only been able to arrest the sellers, not the suppliers.
"We have gone into places and recovered sheets and sheets of holograms and state seals--literally a setup [for] putting a license together," he said. "But we've never found the commercial facility that has the printing presses and all the orders. The informants we have all indicated that that place is somewhere in Mexico."
Beth Givens, director of the San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer information and advocacy program, predicted that driver's license fraud will always be difficult to control because it's not a violent crime and punishment is light.
"If these criminals happened to break and enter or use a gun, it would be one thing," she said. "But because they're using paper and documents, they're not seen as a threat to society."
Banking officials are starting to rethink their heavy reliance on the driver's license. "That's certainly a trend that's underway because they are increasingly fake," said Gregory Wilhelm, lobbyist for the California Bankers Assn.
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New Security Wrinkles
The next time California motorists renew their driver's licenses, the replacements will sport improved security features. Increased fraud involving licenses is prompting the Department of Motor Vehicles to incorporate these anti-counterfeiting measures starting late this year:
Ghost photo: Reduces possibility of someone pasting their picture on another person's license.
Hologram: Embedded in the laminate so it cannot be separated from the license.
Photo on right: For anyone under 21, to deter illegal alcohol purchases.
Broken circle: Dot in the circle would indicate driver wants to be an organ donor.
Blue stripe: When driver will be 18 (eligible to buy tobacco).
Red stripe: When driver will be 21.
Restrictions: Printed on back of license.
Bar code: Carries license number; merchants can compare bar code on back with license number on front.
\o7 Source: California Department of Motor Vehicles\f7
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
DMV Discipline
A statewide crackdown on improper issuing of driver's licenses and other illegal activity by Department of Motor Vehicles employees has led to the firing or discipline of 144 employees since January 1996, officials report. Nearly every DMV office in Los Angeles County had at least one employee who was disciplined. The breakdown:
Arleta: 2
Bellflower: 5
Compton: 3
Culver City: 1
Glendale: 4
Hawthorne: 5
Hollywood: 3
Inglewood: 3
Lincoln Park: 1
Los Angeles: 2
Newhall: 1
Palmdale: 1
Pasadena: 1
Pomona: 1
San Pedro: 3
Santa Monica: 3
Torrance: 4
West Covina: 1
Whittier: 3
Winnetka: 1
\o7 Source: Department of Motor Vehicles\f7
