Police crack down on faulty number plates (From Watford Observer)
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Police crack down on faulty number plates
5:16pm Thursday 16th August 2012 in News
By Rebecca Perring, Reporter
Police have stopped just over 100 cars in Hertfordshire to crack down on drivers with faulty number plates.
Hertfordshire drivers were top of the list over six counties, after 101 cars were stopped in comparison to the lowest ranking county, Essex, with a total of only 19 cars being stopped.
This was during an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) operation, which aims to limit the number of unsafe drivers on the road with faulty number plates.
This operation took place between July 16 and August 5 in order to bulk up security in the run up the Olympics.
In total, 303 cars were stopped and Hertfordshire is said to have come out on top because it has more roads in the county.
Inspector Colin Bonner, from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit said: "ANPR is a significant weapon in our bid to fight crime and protect the public.
"Using this technology the police across the region are helping to remove serious criminals from the roads, as well as unsafe and uninsured drivers and vehicles.
"Those who are using an illegal number plate on their vehicle will be pulled over and could face a fine of up to £1,000."
Comments(14)
QUINNPT
says...
11:07pm Thu 16 Aug 12
drunkenduck
says...
11:08pm Thu 16 Aug 12
The Rover wrote:End of the day you was in the wrong. So stop moaning about it.
I got stopped and got a £60 on the spot fine because the spacing on my numberpate was wrong. Have the police got nothing better to do. How about preventing some real crime, or arresting real criminals, rather than targeting innocent motorists. The police are a joke
theturpster
says...
11:42am Fri 17 Aug 12
The Rover wrote:The registration plate rules are there for a reason, to identify cars correctly from a distance who may drive off after say a hit and run.
I got stopped and got a £60 on the spot fine because the spacing on my numberpate was wrong. Have the police got nothing better to do. How about preventing some real crime, or arresting real criminals, rather than targeting innocent motorists. The police are a joke
If you use custom made plates then that's the risk you take.
LSC
says...
12:39pm Fri 17 Aug 12
Meaningless.
If it simply means the crime they were dealing with was purely number plates that didn't meet requirements then I would question the use of police time.
Yes, it is a crime and yes, if a policeman notices my number plate is illegal and choses to stop and fine me, then that's ok by me.
But a dedicated operation to do so?
This is policing by statistics.
Supposing during that time there was 1 murder, but they stopped 100 motorists and secured 100 convictions (fines) from those motorists. They don't even have to LOOK for the murderer to be able to report a detection rate of crime of over 99% in Hertfordshire! And most people would think that is pretty impressive.
That's what this is really about. Targeting 'soft' crime that is easy to solve to get the numbers up.
DCB1
says...
10:05pm Sat 18 Aug 12
LSC
says...
5:08pm Sun 19 Aug 12
DCB1 wrote:Breaking the law is always a crime, by dictionary definition.
Errrmmm... illegal number plates are a traffic offence and not a crime therefore they would not count towards any kind of crime detection rate.
The difference is you might not make a court appearance (although for some traffic offences you do) and you might not get a criminal record (again, for some you do. You can serve 10 years for causing death by dangerous driving, which is covered by the Road Traffic Act and therefore technically a traffic offence).
garston tony
says...
8:49am Mon 20 Aug 12
There is also a suggestion of a correlation between faulty number plates (and other defects on vehicles) and other crimes/law breaking. It is also proven that if you clamp down on 'smaller' crimes that that has the knock on effect of reducing more serious crimes
Ultimately the police are not just there for murders but for all crimes/law breaking, everyone here would be fuming if they were hit by another vehicle and it couldn’t be identified due to illegal plates so why are some so happy to jump on the bash the police band wagon?
LSC
says...
12:11pm Mon 20 Aug 12
The police bosses want number plates to a standard so they can read them by scanner, look you up on a database and nick you by post.
I, in my idealistic little world, want the police to be PART of the community, not just monitoring it on camera.
You know one of the things that stopped me throwing stones when I was 11? The local Bobby might be about, and he knew my Dad.
watford_bob
says...
5:13pm Mon 20 Aug 12
At the end of the day the rules are the rules - those who flaunt them, whether intentionally or negligently are liable to be prosecuted.
LSC
says...
6:05pm Mon 20 Aug 12
You obviously know the facts, but it seems odd you can be fined for something that is deemed unlawful and yet you haven't committed a crime by doing it.
Have you broken the law or not?
And breaking the law counts as crime doesn't it?
Your post almost reads like there is a difference between law and regulations, but the authorities can punish you for breaching either.
Very dangerous ground, in my book.
You mention 'rules', I say law.
If the law says my number plate has to be a certain way, and it isn't; then I have broken the law. Not a Rule. Not a Regulation. I have committed a crime and surely that is how it must be recorded?
theguitarman
says...
6:23pm Mon 20 Aug 12
Licence plates which have cleverly put together sequences, such as "B10NIC" or "GLO55Y" are amusing and providing they are the right size that fact that there isn't any spacing would not fool and ANPR system.
However when the sequence incorporates Black / Yellow, White licence plate plastic securing bolts to further turn the letters and numbers into an even larger word then it becomes a problem. This will confuse ANPR into thinking a number is any other than what it really is. This is then flouting the law.
The law is clear and even more so as per changes made recently. See this site for sizes etc.
http://www.newreg.co
.uk/services/dvla_nu
mber_plates/acrylic_
plate_rules
The Police are simply doing one of the many jobs there are tasked with, OK it may be a soft target, but if your Wife, Son or Daughter was mown down by someone in a car would you be happy if the number plate seen by an eye witness was given as LAD:GGA ? where black secure bolts were used to make it look like and " I ".
( the : above isnt exactly correct but the limitations of this site don't allow font resizing) and ANPR or a witness would have a hard time working this out.
LSC
says...
7:32pm Mon 20 Aug 12
Then the police would have to do some old fashioned detective work (about 5 mins on a computer) to find LAD:GGA was in fact a silver Mondeo with the real reg 7AD GG4 and it was registered to an address 3 miles away from the crime. Even I could solve that one.
The problem is it would involve humans thinking, not automatons scanning.
TRT
says...
4:37pm Tue 21 Aug 12
The Rover says...
8:27pm Thu 16 Aug 12