§ 424. Stolen or impounded motor vehicles. 1. (a) Agencies which are
members of the New York statewide police information network shall
report any theft, recovery or impounding of a motor vehicle, trailer or
part or parts thereof to such network. Agencies which are not members of
the New York statewide police information network shall make such
reports through a member agency. Such reports shall if possible contain
at least the vehicle identification number, the date of theft, recovery
or impounding of the vehicle, the license plate number and where the
vehicle was stolen, recovered or impounded and the name, address and
telephone number of the facility where such vehicle has been stored.
Such information shall be made available to the commissioner of motor
vehicles. The commissioner may assist in providing information with
respect to stolen or recovered motor vehicles, trailers and parts as he
may deem advisable.

(b) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "impound" shall be
deemed to include the taking into possession by an agency of any motor
vehicle which has been abandoned, repossessed, seized pending forfeiture
proceedings, taken into custody or held as evidence in the course of a
police investigation, required to be impounded by law, or in any other
way taken into possession or held by an agency under circumstances in
which the owner may not reasonably have knowledge of the status of the
vehicle. Nothing contained herein shall preclude a police department,
which has taken a vehicle into custody under these or other
circumstances, from entering a vehicle into the New York statewide
police information network as an impounded vehicle to facilitate
location of the vehicle by its owner.

2. Any police officer, state trooper or peace officer acting pursuant
to his or her special duties shall have the power to seize any motor
vehicle or trailer in the state when there is good reason to believe
that such motor vehicle or trailer has been stolen. Unless the vehicle
is subject to the provisions of section four hundred twenty-three-a of
this article, the appropriate agency shall contact the owner of such
motor vehicle or trailer, if known, and, after any stolen vehicle alarm
resulting from such theft has been cancelled, release the vehicle to
such owner. If the owner thereof cannot be ascertained in accordance
with procedures established by regulations of the commissioner, a local
police agency shall dispose of such vehicle as an abandoned vehicle
pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-four of this chapter, and the
state police shall hold such vehicle for, or deliver it to the office of
general services.