Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras Take 10 Billion Scans A Year
Friday, 15. March 2019
Auto Express has managed to find out that police and council ANPR cameras take 10 billion images each year generating 203 million hits on ‘vehicles of interest’. Police cameras are used to detect and track criminals whilst the council cameras are used to detect parking and road infractions.
This means that the local councils in England, Scotland and Wales have used their cameras to generate £472 million in local authority fines over the last 5 years using motorists to boost their struggling bank accounts. Given the continued strain on budgets, local councils will no doubt use this cash cow opportunity so you should be very wary that even though you may not see a policeman or traffic warden big brother will know if you break the law.
When ANPR cameras were introduced their intention was to assist the police in law enforcement but they have since been extended for the use of councils to generate income. Action group, Big Brother Watch explain, this is ‘constant monitoring of innocent motorists’, with no clear legal basis. Tony Porter, the Government’s surveillance camera commissioner warned that the UK’s ANPR network operates with ‘limited democratic oversite’. He also feels that the network ‘must surely be one of the largest data gatherers of its citizens in the world’.
That doesn’t create a problem if the cameras are used to fight crime but concerns exist over the number of images retained and the use they are put to beyond crime fighting. The most active police cameras are in the West Midlands with nearly 900 million scans each year with 24 million hits on vehicles of interest. Bottom of the top 10 is Dyfed-Powys with 414 million scans with 10.5 million hits on vehicles of interest.
The London Borough of Barnet collected around £38.3 million in fines by issuing 347,000 tickets as a result of ANPR imaging. Glasgow was next with 567,000 tickets raising £33.9 million in fines. London seems to be most popular with 6 of the top 10 ANPR-generated council fines over the last 5 years being in London boroughs.
And things will potentially get worse as the cost of the cameras has dropped dramatically. You can even buy them on eBay for around £200. I would suggest that the current figure of 8,768 cameras installed nationally will grow substantially over the next few years.
It is also my belief that as the Government starts to lose revenue as a result of drivers moving across to hybrid and electric, resulting in a drop in petrol and diesel tax income, they will then charge for road use which will make ANPR essential for charging and proof that cars have entered a charge zone. Time will tell. By Graham Hill
