Car Number Plates Home Page

26/10/09

The technology to check a number plate against a list of 'suspect vehicles' or those that don't have any registered insurance or tax has been in existance for some years, but now it is being introducted in Herefordshire.

Several patrol cars are now fitted with this technology, many motorists being caught on camera last Thursday when Operation Watch hit the streets around Hereford in the UK.

Some 40 officers and Community Support Officers took part in the launch, with patrols based in Whitestone and Belmont Road. Supt Kevin Purcell is reported as calling the cameras a “crime-fighting tool” that would make the county’s roads safer and stop 'travelling criminals' moving about so easily.

With more operations planned around Christmas in a number of market towns it now looks like the end for those trying to dodge paying for insurance etc. “The ones we’re really looking for are vehicles that are stolen or used in burglaries,” he said, “You’d be surprised how many there are. I would say it’s one vehicle in 10 – it might just be a tax disc or no insurance, but it could be for more dangerous things.”

In this first sweep, more than 100 cars were stopped in south Hereford, mostly however for tax offences and vehicle defects. Some might think that these are all pretty small offences, but three motorists were also arrested – including a driver with a truncheon, and a driver over the drink-drive limit.

Sgt Dave Boote said it was all about protecting the public and making sure that everybody played the game, after all “People spend a lot of money on taxing and insuring their cars, only for someone to hit them who won’t be insured.”

NEWS ARCHIVE