CBS news item from 05 April
In the USA, the latest ANPR units operate from a moving car with a laptop on the passengers lap.
The operators cruise the streets to identify cars whose owner has an outstanding fine, even a library ticket.
Once a target is identified they strip the plate off, clamp it and it is then towed away.
Surprise, surprise, there are larger queues to pay outstanding fines.
Is this likely to happen here?
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Already does.
Any and all vehicles entering the City of London gets APNR checked (the ring of steel) and has to be pretty sharpish to get out before a tug from CoL police if anything comes up. The car gets tracked by CCTV.
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You haven't heard the worst of it yet !
I work in the technology industry, and I can tell you that the next generation of ANPR systems make the ones in the City of London look rather 'Fred Flintstone' !
The newer systems are tiny, more accurate and cheaper to deploy like grass-seed !
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And when cars get RFID tagged, your average copper/warden/tax man/ can walk down the road and report a line of cars in seconds.
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Some traffic cars are fitted with mobile ANPR as part of the video camera set up. A warning signals on suspicious plates and hits in London are about one in ten vehicles.
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The newer systems are tiny, more accurate and cheaper to deploy like grass-seed !
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As you say the kit is getting better and cheaper.
I think it was stated at $27.000.
The revenue collected in one area was $600.000 in six months.
The difference was that
1. The kit was totally mobile.
2. It appeared to be operated NOT by the police
3. An instant clamp and lift was carried out for an offence that was not a basic motoring crime.
It would be an added concern if you vehicle has a cloned plate.
Do they suffer from cloned plates in the USA?
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3. An instant clamp and lift was carried out for an offence that was not a basic motoring crime.
I guess this is no different from the Conservative's proposals to take driving licences off yobs convicted of anti-social behaviour.
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"Do they suffer from cloned plates in the USA?"
No, plates are issued only by the US version of the DVLA. They are stamped metal with various holographic (that might not be the right word) bits and coloured designs on them. Very hard to clone, they do get stolen though. Also the plate is tranferred from car to car meaning that if you sell your car you take the plate off before handing it over to the buyer as that plate is registered to you. You would then return the plate to the "DVLA" or keep it for use on your next car.
I still have the plate from my last motorcycle hanging on the wall of my garage here in the UK. If I ever moved back to Florida (state specific plates) I could use them on any motorcycle I purchased. My car plate was returned as I still had some "road tax" left on it and had to turn in the plate to get it refunded.
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>>>>Do they suffer from cloned plates in the USA?<<<
Here, You buy a license plate from the state. They are only manufactured under license for the state and it's illegal to make them yourself. So probably a bit harder to clone than in the UK. Also here they make far less use of camera surveillance and more use of actual traffic patrols, making cloning less useful.
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Since the City of London ANPR was introduced, it has produced hundreds and hundresd of arrests for:
Vehicle Taking
Burglary
Rape
Cheque/Credit card fraud
Going equipped to steal (swipe card cloners)
etc etc etc.
Not only that, it has probably been instrumental in preventing a catastrophe.
Some people view it as big brother, but I am glad it is there. The technology coming in also means that, more often, you do not need to conduct so many stops in the street and antagonising the public. If the computer tells you the car is dodgy....ergo...its occupants might also be...that can only be good. If info is out of date or whatever, a quick dusting down of the occupants and an apology is appreciated.
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You've heard of the 'no-fly' list, haven't you? It's a secret how you get on or off it. If you're on it, or someone with a similar name, you get unbelievable hassle when you try to board an aircraft. The only person to successfully get off it was Senator Teddy Kennedy (probably put on by some malicious in the FBI/CIA who didn't like his politics)
So now the police video cameras are linked to some computer which can look up your registration number and comes back with a 'dodgy' indicator.
Is there going to be any redress if your reg number ends up on the 'dodgy' list, or help getting it off again?
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You've heard of the 'no-fly' list, haven't you?
>>Yes I was involved with it over many years.
It was originally aimed at passengers who airlines did not want to carry - violent, drunks, fraudsters of airlines etc.
It was ramped up about 10 years or so ago when it became a federal requirement for airlines to have databases etc to track 'no-flys'
There seems to be a common problem with all these databases when an error needs to be removed.
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Well....I guess that now you can always write to the force and ask them (under the Freedom of Information Act) how many complaints they have received from people stopped in their car as a result of an ANPR activation which had out of date or incorrect information. I am sure that the numbers would be extremely low. Most people (once it has been explained to them) accept the reason. (often, people recover their own stolen cars and do not tell police in order for it to be cancelled on the PNC)
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Is there going to be any redress if your reg number ends up on the 'dodgy' list, or help getting it off again?
Surely it's the owner who's on the dodgy list, not the plate? Presumably, if ownership of the vehicle is transferred to someone who, by paying for tax and insurance, and not being wanted for questioning over any crimes, isn't dodgy, there's no problem.
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Just wait until all cars are fitted with GPS (the EU is desperate to get this implemented, and it isn?t far away). There won?t be any need for ANPR etc, ?they? will always know where everybody is.
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But they already know where you are if you have your mobile phone with you - which Big Brother do you prefer, HMG or Vodafone?
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Vodafone knows where you are.....
Well, vodafone, or Orange, T-Mobile etc might know where you are (to within a hundred yards in dense city area, or a few miles out in the sticks) but no one else will.
The police do not have access to this sort of data (i.e. cell site analysis) unless it relates to very very serious crime and has had the necessary RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act) forms signed.
It is a very, very expensive facility to get from the phone companies, and the boys in blue do not spend their money lightly in this day of the thin lipped accountant. Chief Officers would rather spend their money obtaining ASBO's (thereby obtaining publicity about cleaning up sink estates)
You may like to know that police, customs and the security services spend millions of our pounds per year obtaining data from telecoms companies. But really, if you are school run mum......don't worry, the old bill aren't following your every move as you clamp your Nokia 6230 to your ear as you drive your X5 to Fulham Primary School
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I think it was on this forum that I found out about a service where ANYONE can track the movements of a particular mobile phone for a not very large fee...
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Fascinating as some of this is, can we make sure we stick to motoring /ANPR related posts please?
Cheers
No Do$h - Alfa-driving Backroom Moderator
mailto:moderators@honestjohn.co.uk
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