CRIME PREVENTION

ZEnergy has launched new licence-platerecognition software to try to stop fuel thieves in the act. “This technology, coupled with Z’s cutting-edge digital CCTV technology, is already making a huge difference on Z sites, particularly in preventing ‘drive offs’, which cost Z around $1.5M per year,” says Z’s general manager of retail, Mark Forsyth. “When we identify a vehicle involved in a drive off, the number plate is captured in the system. If that vehicle comes onto any Z site again, the technology immediately recognizes the plate, focuses cameras on the vehicle and driver, and turns the pump on to prepay, preventing the vehicle from filling up without paying.” The technology has been developed by Aucklandbased company Auror and Focus Digital Security, New Zealand’s leading implementer of automated number-plate-recognition (ANPR) technology. The three businesses are also working in partnership to apply the new technology across the country, so that if a stolen vehicle comes onto any Z site, an automatic alert is sent directly to police, alerting them to the vehicle’s location. “Getting this information to police immediately will be really helpful, as often stolen vehicles are involved in robberies and burglaries. We’ve now got some incredibly smart technology on Z sites that makes committing a crime on a Z site one of the dumbest things you can do,” says Forsyth.