Keeping criminals off the road

ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras can tell police officers within seconds whether a vehicle has been stolen, is known to be involved in a crime, or is untaxed.

It is the ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) vision to have a dedicated ANPR cap-ability in every Basic Command Unit, the aim being to ‘deny criminals the use of the roads’. What has become clear is that training officers in the effective use of the system is a priority.

In order to introduce police officers and staff to the system and familiarise them with the technology, the ACPO decided to produce an e-learning training and assessment programme to go out free to every police force in the country. Frank Whiteley, Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary and ACPO ANPR lead, selected communication consultancy, Information Transfer to develop the programme.

The finished e-learning programme will explain what ANPR is, how it works and will also highlight the legal responsibilities of staff and officers using the system. The programme will be offered on CD-ROM, or forces can access it over their intranet. It can also be uploaded onto the NCALT (National Centre for Applied Learning Technologies) Managed Learning Environment.