Residents in West Mercia and Warwickshire to be consulted on the use of ANPR across the region

The West Mercia and Warwickshire Police forces are asking the residents’ opinion on the use of ANPR technology across the region, a recent news report in the local media has been able to suggest.

The forces have launched an online survey that will run for six weeks and aims to give local communities, as well as those who travel through the region, a chance to voice their views and understanding of how ANPR is used to tackle crime.

The technology is used to help detect, deter and disrupt criminality at a local, force, regional and national level, including tackling travelling criminals, organised crime groups and terrorists.

ANPR provides lines of enquiry and evidence in the investigation of crime and is used by forces throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The aim of the survey is to develop a broader view of public perceptions and understanding of police use of ANPR, allowing officers to inform and engage with communities around its future use.

CCTV Surveillance – experts suppliers of ANPR systems

ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) is a highly accurate system that uses OCR (or Optical Character Recognition) technology to accurately identify the numbers and letters on a number plate.

After identifying the number plates on any vehicle, ANPR systems can easily log the date, time and location of the vehicle, and proceed to carry out an action based on the data (save the information in a database for retrieval at a later time, issue an alert should the plates match against a specific database, open a gate, etc.).

While ANPR is commonly associated with law enforcement use (speed ticketing, congestion area charging, identification of stolen vehicles, etc.), the system has numerous applications designed for private use.

By installing ANPR cameras at a car park’s entrance and exit and checking number plates against an existing Access Control database, organizations can rest assured that only authorized vehicles are able to access their premises. Plus, with ANPR and automatic barriers, access to any car park can be significantly improved and streamlined.

Whether your site only requires a simple system with a single PC and scanner or you’re looking for a fully integrated solution spanning a large premises, CCTV Surveillance will be able to provide you the necessary assistance in choosing the ANPR system that best suits your requirements.