Drivers nabbed by police operation

12:27pm Tuesday 16th October 2007

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Wiltshire Police conducted an operation monitoring traffic with automatic number-plate recognition equipment on Thursday 11 October which resulted in a number of arrests and vehicle seizures.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) equipment scans the registration plates of vehicles and alerts officers to those travelling as unregistered vehicles or without tax and insurance.

Officers trained to use the equipment monitored a total of 16,000 vehicles using the M4 corridor supported by officers from other units including CID, Community Safety and the Roads Policing Unit. A total of 6 vehicles were seized and various arrests made including: One vehicle was stopped having been involved in a theft in the Avon and Somerset area and two women from the Bristol area were arrested on suspicion of theft and assault.

A 50-year-old man from Somerset was stopped and found to have a large amount of money in the car along with traces of cocaine. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of money-laundering, taken to Gablecross Police Station and has been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

An unregistered vehicle was stopped and one of the occupants, a 31-year-old man was arrested under a warrant for non-payment of fines totalling almost £1,000.

One apparently uninsured vehicle failed to stop and was eventually brought to rest after a short pursuit. Having been initially arrested for failing to stop, further enquiries revealed that the male was also wanted by Avon and Somerset for further offences of No Insurance in addition to driving without insurance on the day of the operation.

ANPR can check for vehicles which are of interest to both DVLA (as unregistered) and the police (as uninsured). The equipment can also check vehicles against the car tax database and this allows officers to stop cars that have not been properly taxed. Since tax can only be purchased when by someone who possesses a valid MOT and Insurance, these offences also come to light as a matter of routine.

Most importantly, the equipment helps to reduce the number of potentially dangerous vehicles on our roads. As uninsured vehicles are four times more likely to be involved in an accident it also impacts upon the misery inflicted upon other road users as a result of selfish and antisocial driving.

Occupants of this "underclass of vehicle" are also far more likely to be involved in criminal activities and by confiscating their cars, police effectively "Target Criminals through the use of the Roads".

Speaking after the operation, Acting Inspector Simon Drewett said: "This was an extremely successful operation and I am very pleased with the results that we have achieved. ANPR is a valuable tool in our efforts to reduce crime, apprehend offenders and improve the safety of our roads.

"This equipment is used routinely across the county and such operations should send a clear warning to owners who believe that they can get away without either taxing or insuring their vehicle. Over the last 18 months, officers have seized almost 3,000 vehicles driven without either Insurance or a Licence and crushed over half of these as a consequence.

"Such antisocial vehicle usage is simply not acceptable and owners caught using their vehicles illegally potentially face a long walk home as a result as well as facing the loss of their vehicle and being prosecuted to Court for those offences disclosed."