More police cars set to be kitted out with ANPR technology

MORE than a dozen cameras which quickly read registration plates and alert officers to a wide range of offences are set to be installed in police patrol cars.

Staffordshire Police currently utilises 64 fixed ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) devices which cover 109 lanes of traffic around the county, and flag up not just motoring offences – but whether the vehicle is being used for criminality.

In addition, a number of the force’s Road Policing Unit’s marked and unmarked cars boast ANPR cameras and software which give officers access to information about what issues surround the vehicle highlighted to them.

Now 14 more patrol vehicles are set to be kitted out with ANPR technology, while the force will also take delivery of two more ‘mobile’ devices which officers can install in different locations in response to a crime trend or route used by offenders.

The move comes as part of an investment in the technology which has been made possible thanks to funding from the Staffordshire Commissioner’s Office generated by the police precept, which forms part of council tax bills in the county.

It has also been used for upgrades around ANPR software.

Sergeant Tony Mckenzie said: “Having the ANPR devices in the cars is as good as putting a red arrow above a vehicle which should be pulled over.

“We can read the information relating to that vehicle and decide what action is appropriate.”