New tech to catch more motoring crimes
ANPR camera technology aims to catch more drivers in the act.
More than a dozen police patrol cars are set to be fitted with a "vital" crime-fighting tool.
Staffordshire Police currently utilises 64 fixed ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) devices which cover 109 lanes of traffic around the county and flag up motoring offences and if the vehicle is being used for criminality.
Fourteen 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 thanks to funding from the Staffordshire Commissioner’s Office.
Chief Inspector John Miles, of Staffordshire Police’s Knowledge Hub, said: "A lot of people will think we use ANPR for motoring offences but they are used for a lot more. We use them 24/7 and it is a fantastic tool to gather intelligence and then interrogate that data.
"As vehicles pass through ANPR cameras, the registration is read and instantly checked against a database of vehicles of interest.
"Additionally a record is stored, which includes those for vehicles that are not known to be of interest at that time but may in appropriate circumstances then be later accessed for investigative purposes.
"We will continue to maximize the opportunities that this technology provides us in Staffordshire in the prevention and detection of criminality."
Information around a vehicle can be logged to warn officers over threats the occupants may pose, but to also help them track down cars being used by missing people.
Officers with the force’s Road Policing Unit say the ANPR devices fitted on their vehicles are vital crime-fighting tools.
Sergeant Tony McKenzie added: "The devices give us the most up-to-date intelligence on cars travelling through Staffordshire and will instantly alert us to those vehicles which we need to stop.
"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."
Inspector Mark Joynson, of the Road Policing Unit, said: "This helps us deal with people for a range of offences from having no MOT or insurance to being wanted.
"It gives our officers all the information they need and gives us a picture of who may be in the vehicle."
