Automatic number plate readers and databases target southern drug runners
Automatic Number Plate Reading (ANPR) equipment involves the use of special cameras that scan the number plates of passing vehicles and check them out against 100 separate computerised databases. These include every police force in England and Wales and most of Scotland, the Police National Computer, DVLA records and the MIDAS system, to identify vehicles that are untaxed, have no insurance.
These are being put into action in Hertfordshire after a successful initiative in May, where ANPR enabled the arrest of six people on the Herefordshire/Gloucestershire border, as well as the seizure of quantities of controlled drugs
Now drug runners attempting to cross county borders into Ledbury are risking instant arrest whatever the hour, from this week when the equipment is fitted as standard, into a fleet of everyday patrol cars. And police are promising round the clock number plate monitoring in Herefordshire.
Cars known to have been stolen, used by drink-drivers, drug dealers and criminals will give an instant alert. And once the system sounds, the police will follow and stop the vehicle. Superintendent Kevin Purcell of Herefordshire Division said: "By investing in the technology, we are extending our capability to monitor vehicles on the county's round around the clock.
"This should sent a strong message to the criminal fraternity, and especially those who seek to enter the county from elsewhere to commit crime. "They run the serious risk of being stopped and arrested when they use the roads of Herefordshire."
Central monitoring. Courtesy www.e-lindsey.gov.uk
Source: http://www.ledburyreporter.co.uk