Automatic Number Plate Reader (ANPR) Technology in the UK often
gets a bad name in the press as irate motorists accuse Police
Forces of installing the cameras to entrap speeding motorists
with the aim of making money out of them. What is less
well-publicized is that these facilities are increasingly being
used to great effect by the Police cracking down on crime
generally – the “proper” crime which speeding motorists often
feel Police officers should tackle.
Over the past two years the Police have been adopting a
strategy of "denying criminals the use of the roads", in
recognition of the (supposedly obvious) fact that criminals
usually travel to and from the scenes of their crimes in
vehicles. You are probably vaguely aware that serious crimes
such as murder often use information from traffic cameras in
the area to trace witnesses and potential suspects, but in fact
these cameras are in constant use in pursuit of many offences.
The latest weapon in the war against the criminal driver is the
information being provided every month on vehicles which have
recently ceased to have insurance.
Using information found on the Motor Insurance Database (MID),
a database of all motor insurance policies in the UK, the Motor
Insurers' Bureau (a motor insurance industry body responsible
for compensating the victims of uninsured drivers) provides a
list of those vehicles that might now be driving around without
insurance.
This extract is available to all UK Police Forces, to be used
in conjunction with ANPR cameras to identify likely offenders.
ANPR cameras are not only found on poles on the verge or above
motorways – you may also have seen them pointing out of special
vans parked quietly at the roadside, capturing details of every
vehicle going past. Often the driver of a vehicle passing such
a camera and triggering a "hit" will find himself being pulled
over by an intercept team of Police shortly afterwards. The
insurance data is only one of the possible reasons for this,
but it is a source which often produces excellent results.
During the pilot of the insurance data extract four
metropolitan Forces conducted a one-day operation using data on
long-term uninsured vehicles. They seized dozens of uninsured
vehicles and uncovered drivers with numerous other offences to
their names. In one case a serious crime was actually prevented
by the stop.
This is no surprise to the Police, who are well aware that
apparently trivial offences are strong indicators of wider
criminality. In the 1990s a Home Office study demonstrated that
drivers falsely using disabled parking spaces were significantly
more likely to be guilty of other offences – and those evading
insurance are clearly no different.
This new data is a huge step forward for the Police, providing,
as it does, an active indication of potentially uninsured
drivers. It is no longer a case of avoiding detection by
driving a vehicle committing no visible offence – the ANPR
camera will catch the evader even if his tax disc seems in
order and all his lights are working.
This is all good news for the vast majority of motorists who
comply with the law, even if they resent the price. Every one
of us is contributing an average £20 of our insurance premium
to compensate the victims of uninsured drivers.
Uninsured drivers have more accidents than the average motorist
but they are not paying any of the costs. Now they can more
easily be found, and under legislation which came into force in
2005 , their vehicle can be seized on the spot. Not only do they
face fixed penalty or fine, plus 6 points on their licence, but
they may face a long walk home.
Since the insurance data was rolled out to all GB Forces in
February 2006 the number of vehicles seized each month has
climbed steadily and is currently over 500. Hertfordshire
Police recently announced that they had seized their 2000th
vehicle. We should all hope that the uninsured drivers get the
message that this is no longer an offence they can get away
with – and we can see that £20 start to come down.
About the Author: Penny has managed multi-stakeholder businessprojects involving both IT development and process change andbeen responsible for business requirements analysis and finaldelivery of new functionality. http://www.ctkltd.co.ukSource: http://www.isnare.com
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