West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner hails 'significant win' in the war on ‘ghost plates’ across the region

The Government announced a crackdown on illegal number plates on vehicles as part of its Road Safety Strategy.

This followed a campaign by West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster and West Bromwich MP Sarah Coombes to outlaw reflective plates, which are specifically designed to deceive and evade Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.

The new strategy targets these plates to stop criminals and dangerous drivers from moving across the road network, without detection by ANPR cameras.

In September last year, Operation Phantom identified 4,335 instances of these non-compliant plates in a single location in Birmingham in just two weeks.

Mr Foster, said: “This is a significant win for law and order and a huge step forward for road safety.

“For too long, criminals have used ‘ghost plates’ to operate under the radar, evading the technology available to keep our streets safe.

“I have campaigned tirelessly for this crackdown, taking the fight to Westminster to ensure these plates are removed from our roads once and for all.

“This victory will help us catch criminals, protect the public, and ensure that no driver is above the law.”

Ms Coombes added: “After a sustained campaign about the hidden menace of unreadable ghost number plates in parliament, I am delighted that the government has listened.

“There is no good reason to use a ghost plate, it threatens safety on our roads and allows criminals to go under the radar. But they’ve now been rumbled.

“The Government’s landmark road safety strategy is taking decisive steps to end this number plate Wild West.”

Mr Foster also welcomed a string of other measures in the Road Safety Strategy including consultations on lowering the drink-drive limit, introducing minimum learning periods for young drivers and clamping down on uninsured drivers.

But he was left disappointed a bid to allow local areas to retain fixed penalty fine revenue, to reinvest directly into regional road safety schemes was not included

He said: “Reducing the number of people tragically and avoidably killed or seriously injured on our roads has always remained one of my top priorities.

“While I am disappointed the Government has not yet agreed to let us keep fixed penalty fine money locally to reinvest in road safety, this new strategy still provides vital tools to tackle the ‘fatal four’ – speeding, drink and drug driving, seatbelt neglect, and mobile phone use.

“It will save countless lives in the West Midlands and beyond.”