Fifteen drivers were cited for misusing the placards.

"Unfortunately, disabled placard fraud maybe one of the most abused laws on the books," said university police Capt. Alfredo Fernandez, commanding officer responsible for traffic and parking enforcement at CSUN. "Joint task forces such as these allow us to place a more sustained and directed effort in our enforcement of the law that would not usually be available with our resources alone."

DMV spokesman Mike Miller said investigations such as the one that took place Tuesday are made in response to complaints from disabled Californians, local law enforcement authorities, campus officials or even fellow students.

"Able-bodied people who park in disabled spots to save themselves time may think they're committing a harmless, victimless crime," he said. "But they're actually inconveniencing and potentially endangering someone who can't park anywhere else. We're happy to work with campus officials to expose people who try to cheat the system."

During Tuesday's investigation, authorities made contact with drivers parked in disabled spaces who showed no obvious signs of disability. Officers verified the placard displayed and whether its required registration was in fact issued to the driver in question.

Sentences handed down to past violators, with no prior convictions, cited on CSUN's campus resulted in the seizure of the placard, $250 to $980 fines, eight hours of community service at Cal State Northridge's Center on Disabilities and a one-year probation. Convictions can result in fines as high as $3,500 and imprisonment for up to six months.

"Yesterday's operation should serve as a warning to anyone who even considers breaking the rules. Take the extra time and make the extra steps. It's not worth getting caught," said Anne P. Glavin, chief of CSUN's Police Department.

Two previous crackdowns at CSUN in the past year resulted in 50 for fraudulent use of disabled parking placards. The conviction rate is at 99 percent.