New camera systems installed on key motorways in the UK can detect illegal number plates, according to a BBC Panorama investigation. The technology breakthrough comes as the Department for Transport pushes ahead with plans to make the offence subject to instant points on a licence and vehicle seizure.
How the new cameras work
The BBC's Panorama show said the new camera system is being tested on motorways in south-east England. The plates are adapted to avoid their details being identified by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems, which are used to enforce speed limits and low emission zones, as well as to track criminals.
Under proposals drawn up by the Department for Transport, police will be granted immediate powers to confiscate vehicles fitted with stealth plates, bringing the offence into line with penalties for driving without insurance. Drivers also face receiving up to six penalty points, a threshold that would trigger an automatic ban for newly qualified motorists.
Scale of the problem
The measures have been prompted by growing alarm among police chiefs and national security officials over the proliferation of highly reflective coatings, altered typography, and cloned registrations. The modifications, which are invisible to the naked eye but render plates unreadable to infra-red speed cameras and ANPR systems, can be bought online for as little as £30.
Data compiled by transport groups suggests that as many as one in 15 vehicles on British roads may now carry plates that are illegible to ANPR networks. During a targeted sweep in London, enforcement officers discovered that 40 per cent of taxi and private hire vehicles stopped displayed illegal plate modifications designed to trick cameras.
Police powers and consultation
Police are concerned that lawbreaking is going unpunished and want greater powers to seize vehicles immediately and dish out fines. The consultation document, of which responses are due to be published imminently, said: "It's harder for police to identify who is using a vehicle because some offenders go to great lengths to hide who owns it or who was driving – this makes it harder for the police to keep the public safe and pursue offenders.
"There is a significant amount of evidence of disguising a vehicle's true ownership to avoid compliance with vehicle excise duty requirements and other payment requirements for the use of certain roads. This places an additional burden on those law-abiding drivers when revenue shortfall to the treasury due to fraud has to be made up.
"The police currently have the powers to seize a vehicle from those driving whilst uninsured, or not in accordance with their driving licence. The use of this power has to be proportionate and allows police to use their discretion not to seize where they feel that is an appropriate decision based on the merits of each situation."
Testing and detections
One of the main providers of ANPR technology, MAV Systems, has been testing a new camera capable of identifying and reading ghost plates. At one test site, just outside London near the Dartford Crossing, it has recorded an average of more than 1,000 ghost plates a day over several months.
Two other sites have been running for almost two years. At one, near the M25, detections have risen from 1,000 a day to nearly 2,000 a day – while at the other, near the Eurotunnel at Folkestone, the system is flagging more than 400 a day.
Sarah Coombes, the Labour MP for West Bromwich who has campaigned in Parliament for tougher laws, welcomed the consultation. "We must close this dangerous loophole," she said. "Those who deliberately alter their number plates to evade the law are making a mockery of road safety and placing law-abiding citizens at risk."
Current penalties and calls for change
At present, drivers caught using ghost plates face only a £100 fine, with no penalty points or driving ban. This makes it less severe than a speeding ticket and does little to discourage reckless drivers or criminals seeking to operate undetected. The West Bromwich MP is calling for tougher penalties, including a £1,000 fine, six penalty points, and potential vehicle seizure.
Ms Coombes said: "The scale of the use of ghost plates is not yet widely known, although we do know there are major issues with cloned plates and wider forms of dodgy plates. One study found that as many as one in 15 drivers may already be using anti-ANPR technology, but among some groups it could be even higher.
"One police exercise conducted in London examined more than 1,000 taxi and private hire vehicles, and found that 40% of those vehicles had ghost plates."
Ministers warn that the rise of the stealth plate is facilitating a wave of lawlessness, allowing dangerous drivers to run red lights and exceed speed limits with impunity. It is also understood that cloned and modified plates are routinely used by organised crime groups and drug-trafficking syndicates to move across the country undetected.
The Department for Transport is consulting on making the offence endorsable, attracting penalty points (proposals range from 3 points up to 6 penalty points for deliberate non-compliance), and granting police powers to seize vehicles on the spot if they are found to be fitted with illegal or modified plates, mirroring the enforcement framework used for uninsured motorists. Panorama airs on BBC One (BBC Two in Northern Ireland) at 8pm on Monday 28 September.
