New system detects blacklisted cars
KUALA LUMPUR: Criminals and traffic offenders will find it difficult to evade authorities when the new Automated Number Plate Recognition (APNR) system is implemented.
Federal Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department deputy director Asst Comm Ruslan Khalid said police have taken possession of 20 ANPR units purchased from the United States this month.
He said police have already started using the devices in operations carried out nationwide, especially during traffic operations.
The system uses a high-definition camera that captures and reads number plates to detect blacklisted vehicles or even vehicles in the crime hotlist, he added.
It can also detect vehicles with summonses or even arrest warrants on them.
ACP Ruslan said that when the devices were used in a traffic operation in Johor recently, 2,000 traffic offenders as well as those with outstanding summonses were detected.
“A total of 87 crime cases which involved mostly stolen vehicles were detected by traffic police using the ANPR,” he said during a joint operation called Ops Terancang at the Sungai Besi toll early yesterday.
Ops Terancang was conducted in four different zones on major highways in the country.
The four zones – central, northern, southern and eastern – included Sungai Besi in Kuala Lumpur, Gurun in Kedah, Gunung Semanggol in Perak, Bukit Gambir in Johor and the Temerloh R&R in Pahang.
ACP Ruslan also said the recently implemented Mobile Compound Online Payment System (MCOPS) would enable officers to issue summonses by merely keying in an offender’s details.
The device, similar to a mini printer, has to be synced with smartphones on which the mobile app has been downloaded.
Upon issuance, the summonses will be uploaded to the police system and the police officer can print out a copy on the spot, saving time.
The system is also linked to the Road Transport Department.
In the two-hour operation yesterday, a total of 3,361 summonses were issued to traffic offenders.
ACP Ruslan said that 46 people who tested positive for drugs were also arrested during the operation, with another 29 foreigners detained for failing to produce valid documents.
He said that three million summons notices have been issued this year to traffic offenders while 833,000 warning letters have been sent for failing to respond.