Motor Industry News
10th January, 2008
Cops launch UK-wide crackdown on illegal number plates
A nationwide police service crackdown on illegal number plates is following concern at the growing use of unlawful registration plates by motorists attempting to frustrate the effectiveness of enforcement cameras.
Operation Larch is a week-long national campaign to step up enforcement of current regulations.
"Criminals make use of vehicles to commit crimes and in some cases, will tamper with number plates in order to try and avoid detection by roadside cameras,” said
Frank Whiteley, ACPO lead on Automatic Number Plate Recognition and Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary.
"It is not known how many motor vehicles display misrepresented number plates or how many are driven by active criminals, but Operation Larch will provide intelligence for the first time on the link between this offence and broader criminality, and inform a debate around the tightening of legislation around number plate offences.”
Illegal alterations range from changes to the layout of plates or use of non-standard fonts, through the use of tape, screws, and other objects to obscure plates, to sophisticated measures such as the use of stolen or false number plates to clone vehicles. Always check VIN/Chassis numbers via mycarcheck.com to validate car identity.
A nationwide police service crackdown on illegal number plates is following concern at the growing use of unlawful registration plates by motorists attempting to frustrate the effectiveness of enforcement cameras.
Operation Larch is a week-long national campaign to step up enforcement of current regulations.
"Criminals make use of vehicles to commit crimes and in some cases, will tamper with number plates in order to try and avoid detection by roadside cameras,” said
Frank Whiteley, ACPO lead on Automatic Number Plate Recognition and Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary.
"It is not known how many motor vehicles display misrepresented number plates or how many are driven by active criminals, but Operation Larch will provide intelligence for the first time on the link between this offence and broader criminality, and inform a debate around the tightening of legislation around number plate offences.”
Illegal alterations range from changes to the layout of plates or use of non-standard fonts, through the use of tape, screws, and other objects to obscure plates, to sophisticated measures such as the use of stolen or false number plates to clone vehicles. Always check VIN/Chassis numbers via mycarcheck.com to validate car identity.