And walk around a busy village/town with a plate in my hand, with people looking, giving the wrong impressions. I don't think so.
Oh, my first impressions were that you were driving when you took this photo, not walking around. Whenever I see a plate on the side of the road I take it no matter what, put it in a plastic bag if I'm alone. Or i see one when I'm in the car I would ask to pull over and get the plate and come back. I've walked past a security guard once with a plate in my hand and he never really bothered, theres also a security man at my college on some days and he admitted himself that hes only paid just to sit there so he doesn't care about what anyone does. I found 3 roadkills once on the side of a main road and i had to walk all the way back up the road with them in my hand, but all the drivers saw me pick them up on the grass next to the traffic lights.
And walk around a busy village/town with a plate in my hand, with people looking, giving the wrong impressions. I don't think so.
If someone asks you can say it's your car's, or that you're taking it to the police station, that's what I would do
Yes, but I'm not sure why anyone would walk around with their cars registration plate in their hand, also, what if you're walking in the opposite direction to the police station? I'd just simply say I found it on the side of the road and that I collect them.