10:05am Sunday 21st October 2007
By Eleanor Stride
A POLICE camera that can automatically read car number plates could be installed on a major north Hampshire road.
Police are investigating the possibility of positioning an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) device on the A340 in Tadley, at a cost of between £30,000 and £50,000, in a bid to cut crime and track down car tax and insurance evaders, disqualified drivers and those wanted by the police.
ANPR technology has been used by Hampshire Constabulary since 2003, in both fixed and mobile cameras. It allows checks to be made against a variety of computer databases, including the Police National Computer, DVLA databases and local intelligence data bases.
Suspicious vehicles are then flagged up and can be targeted by police for interceptions and inquiries.
Inspector Ben Taylor, of the Basingstoke rural sector, said: "Tackling cross-border crime is one of our key targets. We are looking at roads which take vehicles in and out of Hampshire where we believe we will be able to disrupt criminality. The A340 is a busy road which is used by a lot of traffic coming into the county.
"ANPR is not a method of catching people speeding. It is about making roads safer by catching drivers with no tax and insurance - the type of drivers that history shows are likely to be the kind who may be involved in criminality."
Inspector Taylor said he had approached Tadley Town Council and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council with the proposal, as planning permission and funding would be needed before any camera could be installed.
Meetings to discuss the idea are to take place next month.
He said: "We need to see if it is feasible. Funding is an issue, so we are at the very early stages."
At a full meeting of Tadley Town Council, councillors discussed the proposal.
Councillor Terry Faulkner said: "The police get enough of taxpayers' money anyway. We will give them support, but not the funding. Why should it fall to Tadley?"
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