fookin arseholes
just to piss you off a little more , heres some info on the numberplate recognition vans that are all over the uk at the mo
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/portal/m...menuId=4385&me nuItemId=-1&view=&grid=&targetRule=
Car number plate camera trials see 13,500 arrested
By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor
(Filed: 03/11/2004)
Thousands of motorists stopped by police using number plate recognition scanners have been arrested for a range of non-driving offences.
David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said the success of the new Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras was such that he was extending the scheme.
An extra £15 million would be spent equipping the police with the system, which is used by half the forces in England and Wales. Figures published yesterday showed that in a 12-month pilot period in 23 force areas there were nearly 13,500 arrests for a wide range of offences.
The Home Office said the arrest rate was nine times the national average. Police intercept teams stopped 180,000 vehicles using the system. They recovered 1,152 stolen vehicles worth more than £7.5 million, stolen goods worth more than £640,000 and drugs valued at £380,000.
Officers also recovered 13 firearms and 266 offensive weapons. There were 3,330 arrests for driving offences, 2,263 for theft and burglary, 1,100 for drug offences and 1,300 for vehicle theft.
The cameras can check up to 3,000 vehicles an hour. Mr Blunkett said ANPR was "a powerful tool" that brought enormous benefits to the police and to society.
The system works even if the targets are travelling at 100 mph. The infrared digital cameras can capture images, even in poor light, rain, reflection or dazzle. Computer software reads the number plates and sends the information to databases that can alert officers within seconds to stolen, unregistered, untaxed or uninsured vehicles.
Most drivers are stopped for failure to display a tax disc or for talking on a mobile phone and are given a £30 fixed penalty.
For more serious offences, such as driving without insurance, £200 endorsable penalties can be issued but the research showed that only 14 per cent of these were paid.
The report said there was evidence that penalties in court were sometimes less severe than the fines themselves, encouraging offenders not to pay the on-the-spot fine and go to court instead.
