Staffordshire police vehicles get new technology to help with fighting crime.
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology is being fitted to police cars in Staffordshire as part of a £500,000 investment in keeping roads safe.
The mobile technology will support the force in tackling criminality associated with the roads and improving safety, identifying not only vehicles being driven without insurance or MOTs but also those reported as stolen, involved in incidents or belonging to known criminals.
Staffordshire's Commissioner for Police, Fire and Rescue and Crime Ben Adams visited the joint services’ vehicle workshop to see a police car being fitted with ANPR.
As a vehicle passes an ANPR camera, its registration number is read and instantly checked against database records of vehicles of interest. Police officers can then stop the vehicle, speak to the occupants and, where necessary, make arrests.
Mr Adams said: “Automatic number plate recognition technology is an important tool to help the police detect, deter and disrupt criminal activity.
“The £500,000 investment I approved for ANPR will make a significant difference in Staffordshire, giving every local policing team the technology to track down those using our roads for criminality which harms our communities.
“I was able to watch a vehicle being fitted with the new technology, which will greatly increase the police’s proactive opportunities to target offenders on our road networks, as well as providing robust evidence to support investigations.”
Superintendent Clair Langley said: “We welcome this substantial investment to enhance our ANPR capability in the county. The technology provides valuable information to officers investigating vehicles being used in serious and complex crimes and can also help to dramatically speed up investigations.”
