Police stop 200 vehicles in one day (From Watford Observer)

Hang on, if they used the ANPR camera as a guide and stopped 200 vehicles, why was there only action taken against 27? Was the camera wrong 173 times out of 200?

Doesn't sound like a crackdown to me, sounds like 173 people were incorrectly suspected of criminal activety and had their time wasted without good reason.
This reliance on ANPR cameras is worrying.

No, I've been stopped by ANPR before and it was down to an irregularity with the vehicle registration documents. The DVLC processed the various change of ownership slips in the wrong order as the dealer I got the car from was a bit slow at filing their paperwork, resulting in my car having no registered keeper for two years. I was identity checked and told I should get it straightened out as soon as possible. Sent on my way as soon as they were sure it was a genuine mistake. It's the kind of an error that is only going to be picked up by ANPR. The police have discretion about what they pursue to court and what they just hand out a caution or simply advice for. I just wish they would do the same picking up on lighting errors, noisy exhausts etc. Then people would think twice about using mobiles or acting like dicks on the road.

Harrassment of driver for a change! this is very LAZY Policing!!!

How is catching people breaking the law lazy policing? I think its lazy and idiotic thinking knocking the police over things like this.

From TRT's post it seems that they would have had valid reasons to stop all the vehicles they did but many of those stops would have been due to paper work issues and not actual crimes. To take action against 27 people when you've only stopped 200 vehicles is a great ratio in my mind, if you think this is lazy hornet no 12 please answer the question how else would these 27 drivers have been caught if it wasn’t in an operation like this?

Why is it that people are up in arms whenever motorists are caught doing wrong. People get a speeding tickets, it’s the polices fault and not theirs for breaking the law. Get a parking ticket, it’s the traffic wardens fault and not theirs for parking where they shouldn’t. Get stopped for not having insurance/for having illegal drugs on you/for having stolen goods, it’s the polices fault for catching them.

Hows about people stop being lazy, and stop blaming everyone else for their own actions and for things they are responsible for that are wrong?

I totally agree with those last paragraphs Tony, but I am still worried by the reliance on the cameras.
I'd back an experienced copper's instinct over technology every time (and that's an engineer talking!).

When I was 17 in the 80s, I used to get stopped all the time when I was allowed to borrow my Dads car (This was neccesary as my own cars frequently fell apart) . Although everything was legal about myself and the car, the police would explain it 'just didn't look right'. Sure, it was a pain at times and I was never prosecuted for anything, but if I had just stolen it and the owner hadn't reported it yet, an ANPR would not pick it up. But a good copper would.

But LSC surely an experienced coppers instinct is in its best environment when looking at a crime scene or speaking to people etc. I'm sure looking visually at vehicles many coppers would be able to identify ones that are likely to have 'issues' but that is an imprecise science and you're far more likely to stop innocent motorists that way.

What the camera and technology does is enables coppers to be able to target specific vehicles that are recorded as having specific issues i.e. known not to have tax or/and insurance, known to have incomplete or faulty paperwork and so on. It does look like the majority of those stopped were for more minor paperwork issues but it doesn’t take a genius to see that someone that drives without tax or insurance (which is bad enough in itself and needs tackling and well done to them for doing so) is more likely to be involved in other criminal acts such carrying illegal drugs or handling stolen property.

In your first post you cried out at 173 innocent people being stopped, well I think that’s been put to bed and that all those stopped were stopped for valid reasons. However using a coppers instinct (as would have beeen the case pre anpr cameras) to stop 200 vehicles you'd probably find that the majority of those stopped would actually be totally innocent of any infraction whats so ever.

Personally I see it as our civic duty to assist the police when asked to and in my many years I've been stopped by them a handful of times when they've wanted to check paperwork or were looking for specific individuals following an incident in the locality etc. I've never ever had a problem with that and don’t have a problem with them stopping vehicles with actual known issues. The only people that should be concerned are those doing something wrong, simple, and these camera's increase the chances of those in the wrong getting caught and innocent people not being stopped.

I would add that i'm sure that the police dont just stop people when prompted to by the anpr and will still use their judgment to stop vehicles that look suspicious to them. Technology and instincts can work together without any issues

garston tony wrote:
I would add that i'm sure that the police dont just stop people when prompted to by the anpr and will still use their judgment to stop vehicles that look suspicious to them. Technology and instincts can work together without any issues

I 100% agree. I don't want to not use technology, I am just a little wary of reliance on it.

Speed cameras changed traffic policing dramatically. There used to be a lot more coppers around patrolling, or sitting on those little mounds off the hard shoulder on the motorway. Not wonderfully cost effective, but some things in life just aren't, and never will be (like the NHS).

But they put in cameras and cut the patrols. That's ok for catching speeders, but no good for all the other dangerous stuff you and I witness every day.
I fear ANPR cameras might go further down this route.

I must disagree with you there LSC, I spend a lot of time on motorways especially but not exclusively the M1 and what I've noticed is far more coppers driving just under the posted speed limit up and down the motorways doing precisely what you said keeping an eye out for those things camera's don’t/can't (currently) spot.

Technology just narrows the odds in the polices favour, as in the above being able to stop over 200 vehicles each of which had a known issue, or by taking on duties that free up their time for other matters such as speed camera's.