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‘WE WILL CATCH YOU’: Nationwide government crackdown launched on drivers using ghost and cloned number plates
- Perry Richardson
- 56 minutes ago
- 2 min read
A nationwide crackdown on illegal number plates is being stepped up as the Government targets motorists attempting to evade fines, enforcement cameras and police detection.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is funding the National Roads Policing Coordination Centre (NRPCC), bringing together police forces across England to improve intelligence sharing, collaboration and the use of data against road-based offending.
Part of the work will involve trials of new detection technology, including specialised goggles designed to identify registration plates that have been deliberately altered or treated so they cannot be read properly by cameras.
The move could have implications for taxi and private hire drivers and operators, whose vehicles routinely pass through Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems and local authority enforcement networks. Correctly displayed and compliant registration plates remain essential, particularly for vehicles operating extensively in clean air, parking and other camera-enforced areas.
According to the Government, illegal plates are being used for offences ranging from avoiding speeding, parking and clean air zone penalties through to organised crime and the movement of illegal goods. Vehicles concealed from number plate recognition systems can also be more difficult to identify when stolen or linked with serious criminality.
Among the practices being targeted are cloned plates, where a legitimate vehicle’s registration is copied and displayed on another vehicle. The crackdown will also focus on so-called “ghost plates”, which can involve transparent films intended to interfere with camera recognition, as well as vehicles being driven without registration plates.
Drivers displaying a number plate incorrectly can currently face a fine of up to £1,000.
Roads Minister Justin Madders said: “We’re cracking down on illegal number plates with new policing resource and innovative tech.
“Illegal number plates are used for crimes from evading parking charges to drug trafficking and we’re stepping in to protect drivers.
“This is a signal to anyone using illegal number plates that their time is up. We will catch you and our roads and streets will be safer for it.”
The enforcement push comes as the Government considers wider changes through its Road Safety Strategy, described as the first such strategy in more than a decade. Consultation work has already covered stronger penalties for motorists using illegal plates, a review of number plate standards and potential improvements to enforcement.
Chief Superintendent Marc Clothier, Deputy National Coordinator for the NRPCC, said previous police activity against ghost plates had demonstrated the value of targeted, intelligence-led enforcement.
He said: “Through the National Roads Policing Coordination Centre, our mission is to tackle the biggest risks to road safety, enhancing and developing the police response to criminality both on and off the roads.
“The police forces involved in our ghost plates operation have shown how effective a targeted and intelligence-led approach is in tackling offenders as well as educating and supporting drivers in ensuring their numberplates are compliant.”
Clothier added that DfT funding would provide an opportunity to improve national coordination, consistency and collaboration between police, government and the wider road safety sector.
