UK government funds roads policing team in crackdown on illegal number plates
The government is funding a new National Roads Policing Coordination Centre to help police detect illegal number plates used to dodge fines and fuel organised crime.
- £1,000
What Happened
The Department for Transport is funding a new National Roads Policing Coordination Centre (NRPCC) to step up enforcement on illegal number plates across England. The centre will bring together police forces to share intelligence, improve collaboration and make better use of data. It will also trial new technology, including specialised goggles that can detect number plates where criminals have tried to make them unreadable by cameras.
Illegal number plates are often used for criminal activity to evade speeding, parking or clean air zone penalties, and are frequently used for organised crime, including moving illegal goods on the road network. Vehicles that hide from number plate recognition technology are harder for police to track when they are stolen or linked to organised crime and other serious offences. Better detection will let police track down criminals more quickly, making roads safer and reducing crime on streets.
- Cloned plates: a vehicle carries a copied registration belonging to another legitimate vehicle, making it harder to identify.
- Ghost plates: a transparent film is used to make the registration undetectable to cameras.
- Missing plates: a car has no number plate at all.
“Illegal number plates are used for crimes from evading parking charges to drug trafficking and we're stepping in to protect drivers.”
“Thanks to the funding from DfT, we have a valuable opportunity to support road safety and roads policing across the UK with enhanced national coordination, consistency, collaboration and communication across policing, government and the wider road safety community.”
£1,000
Drivers can be fined up to this amount.
The move is part of the government's Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, which aims to save thousands of lives. The strategy has already consulted on stronger penalties for drivers using illegal number plates, reviewing number plate standards and improving enforcement. The work builds on effort by the DVSA and DVLA, which are working with police to improve how illegal plates are identified and enforced, including investigating businesses that illegally supply plates and supporting roadside operations.
Why this matters
Illegal number plates let drivers evade speeding, parking and clean air zone penalties, and they are frequently linked to organised crime such as moving illegal goods. The new police coordination centre shares intelligence and trials detection technology such as specialised goggles, helping officers track down criminals more quickly. That aims to make roads and streets safer across England.
Terms in This Story
- cloned plates
- A copied registration number taken from another legitimate vehicle, making the vehicle harder to identify.
- ghost plates
- A transparent film applied to a number plate that makes the registration undetectable to cameras.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.