Discussion
Anybody else feel slightly uncomfortable with this?
Visiting criminals will be caught... on film
By James Clements
CRIMINALS coming into Marlow will face state-of-the-art roadside cameras that recognise number plates, under a new police crackdown to reduce car crime.
Officers are to install the mobile cameras in an effort to catch thieves coming into the town from neighbouring towns such as Slough on a regular basis and stealing from residents.
Although the new cameras are not CCTV cameras and will watch traffic flow, police think they will make a difference, particularly to car crime.
Inspector Andy Kitchen, of Marlow Police, told Marlow Town Forum that there had been an increase in car crime thanks to thieves coming from outside the town.
He said: "Visiting criminals from Slough and other areas have affected car crime figures and contributed to thefts from pubs and the railway station particularly.
"What we plan to do is use a bit of technology. The system we are proposing to use is a fairly new system.
"It recognises and logs the number plates of cars going by.
"From this we hope to build up a detailed picture of cars coming into and leaving the Marlow area."
Using this information police hope to identify movements of vehicles connected with crime and even link them to crime hot spots in the town.
Insp Kitchen said one of the main problems was drivers filling cars up with fuel at petrol stations and driving off without paying.
He added that police had already identified a site where the camera could go.
Mobile versions of the technology have already been used in High Wycombe with great success.
Sgt Phil Haseler of Amersham Traffic Police was involved in testing the cameras on High Wycombe's London Road with a team of six officers.
He said the cameras would record number plates before checking them against the DVLA database from which police could establish the vehicle's owner and carry out any checks necessary.
The cameras will be installed later in the year.
At last week's town centre forum meeting Insp Kitchen also revealed that burglary had fallen by seven per cent, crime against the person had fallen by 17.2 per cent, but car crime showed a rise.
09:34 Friday 1st March
Visiting criminals will be caught... on film
By James Clements
CRIMINALS coming into Marlow will face state-of-the-art roadside cameras that recognise number plates, under a new police crackdown to reduce car crime.
Officers are to install the mobile cameras in an effort to catch thieves coming into the town from neighbouring towns such as Slough on a regular basis and stealing from residents.
Although the new cameras are not CCTV cameras and will watch traffic flow, police think they will make a difference, particularly to car crime.
Inspector Andy Kitchen, of Marlow Police, told Marlow Town Forum that there had been an increase in car crime thanks to thieves coming from outside the town.
He said: "Visiting criminals from Slough and other areas have affected car crime figures and contributed to thefts from pubs and the railway station particularly.
"What we plan to do is use a bit of technology. The system we are proposing to use is a fairly new system.
"It recognises and logs the number plates of cars going by.
"From this we hope to build up a detailed picture of cars coming into and leaving the Marlow area."
Using this information police hope to identify movements of vehicles connected with crime and even link them to crime hot spots in the town.
Insp Kitchen said one of the main problems was drivers filling cars up with fuel at petrol stations and driving off without paying.
He added that police had already identified a site where the camera could go.
Mobile versions of the technology have already been used in High Wycombe with great success.
Sgt Phil Haseler of Amersham Traffic Police was involved in testing the cameras on High Wycombe's London Road with a team of six officers.
He said the cameras would record number plates before checking them against the DVLA database from which police could establish the vehicle's owner and carry out any checks necessary.
The cameras will be installed later in the year.
At last week's town centre forum meeting Insp Kitchen also revealed that burglary had fallen by seven per cent, crime against the person had fallen by 17.2 per cent, but car crime showed a rise.
09:34 Friday 1st March
Bit of 'closing the barn door after horse has bolted' if you ask me. Joe Burglar comes into town one day with 5000 other cars and gets his plate recorded by big bruvver. Goes on a nicking spree and drives home. PC Copper then gets a call about the robbery etc. "Weds 5th between 8am and 6pm you say?" He then pulls up the database with the 5000 cars on it ... how much police time is it going to take to track Joe down? Since Joe is allegedly a local (Slough) then he may well have good reason to go to Marlow (nice place to spend you Dole money/profits from fencing gear).
Or Joe Burglar finds out where the camera is and comes into town on another road. Since said camera installation has been publicised he knows it exists and will find a way around it.
IMO the money should be spent on a couple of Bobbies patrolling on the street. But I'm sure this would come from a different budget.
T/.
Or Joe Burglar finds out where the camera is and comes into town on another road. Since said camera installation has been publicised he knows it exists and will find a way around it.
IMO the money should be spent on a couple of Bobbies patrolling on the street. But I'm sure this would come from a different budget.
T/.
My local paper ran an article on these new cameras last week - at last an explanation for all those blue poles and what look like CCTV cameras on the A68 as it winds its way through the Borders. The number plate recognition software does an instant database lookup to check the registration. If the number is tagged as suspect - stolen vehicle, involved in robbery etc. - the alarm is instantly raised and plod is dispatched. If there is no tag, under the data protection act, the number has to be immediately discarded. All this happens in real time and is no doubt very welcome, even to cynical PHers!
The problem is the author went on to explain the system could easily be used for speed detection if the same number popped up in quick succession on two cameras (to add to all the unnecessary Gatsos on a superb piece of road). No doubt the authorities will seek an exemption from the data protection act to do just that. Watch this space.
The problem is the author went on to explain the system could easily be used for speed detection if the same number popped up in quick succession on two cameras (to add to all the unnecessary Gatsos on a superb piece of road). No doubt the authorities will seek an exemption from the data protection act to do just that. Watch this space.
How long before they tie into the Insurance databases and log cars without insurance (a good thing) and how long before a national MOT database is set up - do that and its worth supporting. Otherwise you can guarantee it'll be used one way or another to track Joe Public as he goes about his business and they'll find a way to persecute the motorist again.
Hang on... blue poles? Up until now, blue poles has signified traffic master. Their system is just used to chart road conjection and chucks away two or three digits of your numberplate.
Has someone involved with this new thingy been evil enough to make it look the same as lil-innocent-trafficmaster, or have things been confused?
Has someone involved with this new thingy been evil enough to make it look the same as lil-innocent-trafficmaster, or have things been confused?
quote:
If there is no tag, under the data protection act, the number has to be immediately discarded. All this happens in real time and is no doubt very welcome, even to cynical PHers!
The problem is the author went on to explain the system could easily be used for speed detection if the same number popped up in quick succession on two cameras (to add to all the unnecessary Gatsos on a superb piece of road). No doubt the authorities will seek an exemption from the data protection act to do just that. Watch this space.
I do not see how the system could be used for speed detection if, as is claimed, un-tagged numbers are immediately discarded in real time, therefore there is no database. To keep the numbers the system architecture would have to be greatly modified to store numbers that appear. This would be almost impossible real time in size terms. The system would slow down so much as to be absolutely useless.Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff