Reports of cloned number plates have surged by 54% compared with the start of the decade, with 11,394 motorists telling the DVLA last year that their plates had been cloned. The trend is causing innocent drivers to be pulled over and has been linked to a fatal crash that killed two police officers.
Fatal Crash Linked to Cloned Plates
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the Volkswagen Passat involved in a crash that killed two police officers after being driven the wrong way down the A66 was flagged as having cloned number plates and had been linked to "numerous incidents".
Number plate cloning involves criminals illegally copying a legitimate car's registration number and attaching it to another vehicle. This allows them to flout traffic laws, pick up parking tickets and commit serious offences while remaining effectively untraceable by police ANPR cameras.
How Cloning Works and Its Impact
Experts say car thieves often attach cloned plates from identical vehicles with clean histories after stealing a car, making it invisible to the ANPR network while they transport or sell it. Gangs are also known to use cloned plates to travel undetected across county lines to traffic drugs, transport weapons or carry out attacks without being tracked, the Met Police have previously warned.
The practice leaves the innocent owner of the original vehicle to answer for the crimes. In 2020, former Bradford City player Ben Richards-Everton was pulled over and handcuffed by police on a trip to the shops after his Range Rover's plate triggered the police ANPR network. He told local media he feared he would be "Tasered" during the police search after his plate was flagged for drugs and firearms offences. He was released with no further action, and West Midlands Police said they believed his plates had been cloned.
Regulatory Gaps and Calls for Action
About one in twelve number plates on the road are now believed to be hidden or damaged, according to the RAC, rendering useless one of the main methods police use to trace suspects. Cloned plates and "ghost" plates — where plastic film, special sprays or raised lettering obscure the plate — have contributed to a crisis in road traffic policing and exposed cracks in the vehicle registration system.
A report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety (APPGTS) warned that an outdated and poorly regulated number plate network has created a "Wild West" that enables organised crime. Noting there were just five or six DVLA enforcement officers monitoring the entire UK number plate supply industry, the report said: "Rogue drivers can exploit weaknesses in the automatic number plate recognition system with ease, buying plates for less than £10 online with no questions asked."
Sarah Coombes, a Labour MP who is part of the group, said she was alerted to the crisis by constituents in West Bromwich who reported vehicles being raced around housing estates by speeding drivers late into the night. It proved almost impossible to track the drivers as most were using untraceable cloned or ghost plates. She also pointed to a recent investigation by Rochdale Trading Standards, which found DVLA-registered number plate suppliers operating out of back bedrooms and garden sheds.
Using fake plates to hide a vehicle's identity can be prosecuted as fraud by false representation, carrying unlimited fines and up to two years in prison. However, there have been relatively few convictions because it is difficult for police to prove who was behind the wheel or who fitted the fake plates to meet the high burden of proof required for a fraud conviction.
Anyone who believes their number plate has been stolen or cloned should report it immediately to the Police, DVLA and their insurer. Kevin Mead, Head of Churchill Motor Insurance, said: "It’s a worrying trend that continues to cause significant stress and disruption for innocent drivers who are left dealing with months of inconvenience as they try to challenge penalties and clear their name."
