Kudos to the cop who let you off. A good cop would never let the criminals win
I was driving my cage a couple of seasons ago, and I saw a couple of guys working on a motorcycle on the shoulder. I stopped to help. They took off running. I was confused by that reaction, but then I realized that just by stopping, I helped
Here in the rust belt we count on getting our plates ripped off. Mine are held on with two of the cone security bolts, and two phillips panheads with red locktite. If I ever have to take the plate off, I'll have to use the Dremmel on the locktite bolts.
Also, if there is motorcycle un-attended on the side of the road, count on it to get stripped and ripped. For every hour, it will be missing one part. Plates, bungies, stem caps anything that comes off easy. Leave it there for more than a day, and they'll come back with a pickup truck to finish it off.