Guide time: 2.45 – 3.15pm
Decision:
RESOLVED that: the information contained in the Automated Number Plate Recognition presentation be noted.
Minutes:
The PFCC introduced the presentation and highlighted the following points:
· ANPR was used to detect, deter and disrupt criminality at local force, regional and national level.
· £1.3 million investment in ANPR technology had doubled the network coverage across Northamptonshire; in Northampton, rural areas, other major towns and at the county borders.
The OPFCC Director of Delivery, and the Chief Superintendent – Enabling Services, delivered a presentation giving an overview of the development and use of ANPR in Northamptonshire and the outcomes achieved.
The OPFCC Director of Delivery highlighted the following points:
A description of the functionality of ANPR was given:
· ANPR technology was used to detect, deter and disrupt criminal activity at a local, force, regional and national level. When a vehicle passed an ANPR camera, its registration number would be read and instantly checked against database records of vehicles of interest.
· Police officers could then stop the vehicle, speak to the occupants and, where necessary, make arrests.
Objectives relating to the use of ANPR were two-fold, to improve capability and the response to fighting crime:
· Protecting the county border, increasing protection of rural areas, increasing protection of county towns, improving the response to emerging crime series, preventing & disrupting crime and increasing intelligence resource to process data & support network.
Highlights of the recent ANPR Expansion were:
· The installation of 150 additional camera sites (161 cameras), the addition of 7 new car kits in-build and 10 rapid deployment cameras being regularly used across the county. And increased staffing resources; 1 ANPR Field engineer, 1 Auditor and 3 additional Intel Officers.
The OPFCC Director of Delivery further noted:
· The aim of the ANPR Extension Programme undertaken was a high-level strategic examination of situation within Northamptonshire with a view to increasing the capability of the organisation to address criminal activity.
· Northamptonshire shared borders with 8 counties.
· Review the map of Northamptonshire and identified the roads used to access the county.
· Examined the effectiveness of coverage of the existing ANPR cameras in both rural and urban areas.
· Placing 150 additional cameras in hot spots in Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby, Daventry, Towcester, Rushden and in the town centre. 20 new cameras would be added to sites owned by Highways England.
· Improving the force response to emerging crime.
· Preventing and disrupting criminals and restricting passage across Northamptonshire’s roads.
· Increasing the use of ANPR intelligence to gather retrospective evidence, post criminal offence.
· Capital investment of £1.3 million had been allocated to the ANPR project.
· The project was funded from the excess monies collected from speeding fines and payments for attendance at speed awareness courses.
· 2.5 to 3.2 million number plates would be read daily in Northamptonshire. The OPFCC had allocated staffing from existing resources to analyse the data.
The Chief Superintendent – Enabling Services highlighted the following points:
· The Number of ANPR Activations for the period 1 January 2022 – 31 March 2022 totalled 267,927.
· 137,638 (51%) of activations had been on the existing cameras.
· 130,289 (49%) activations on the new cameras.
· Individual vehicle activations for the period for the period 1 January 2022 – 31 March 2022 totalled 9,269. 3,718 (40%) of activations had been on the existing cameras and 1,797 (19%) activations on the new.
· A geographical breakdown of activations indicated; Corby 8%, Daventry 12%, East Northants 10%, Kettering 12%, Northampton 33%, South Northants 10% and Wellingborough 14%.
· The enhancement of capability had resulted in; £78m drugs being seized, 94% increase in vehicles of interest being sighted, 880 VRNs being identified and linked to crime investigation and 439 cloned vehicles being identified since July 2021.
· Fighting Crime Initiatives; Operation Jaguar - of 143 Vehicles stopped 44 vehicles had been seized and 26 arrests made. In March 2022, as a result of Operation Opus, 100 vehicles were seized, and 19 arrests made for variety of offences including recalls, robbery, burglary & drug driving. 242 arrests could be directly attributed to ANPR Intel team, many out of force arrests were as a consequence of vehicles being identified in Northamptonshire.
· Operation Typhoon had been set up to address keyless vehicle theft series at both towns and villages and Operation Pound as a response to a series of caravan and trailer thefts across Daventry and South Northants rural areas.
· ANPR team had provided evidence to; support in numerous murder cases, most notably Operation ARUBA, and for the apprehension of a male wanted for multiple rapes, burglary, theft and failure to recall to prison.
· Over a two week period, spanning August and September, the ANPR intel team had reported 10 arrests; 3 for commercial burglary, and 7 for theft from vehicles.
The Chief Superintendent – Enabling Services further noted:
· The majority of ANPR readings were attributed to law-abiding citizens.
· The number of cameras in each area would be proportionate to the amount of crime recorded.
· All officers would flag vehicles up for attention.
· Using ANPR technology Northamptonshire Police had assisted in cross border operations to resolve crime and bring about positive outcomes.
The Panel considered the presentation and members made the following points during the course of their discussion:
· Clarification was sought regarding the sharing of data with DVLA with regard to cloned vehicles.
· Consideration was given to the volume of traffic that traverses Northamptonshire, and the complexities of managing the volume of data from the network of roads with the resources available. Further insight was sought into prioritisation.
· Clarification was sought regarding replacement of non-functioning ANPR cameras and the technical capabilities of the ANPR System.
· A Panel member noted that he had experienced the positive impact on the public perception of Northamptonshire Police as a result of successful cross border working between Thames Valley Police and Northamptonshire Police.
· An explanation was sought regarding Northamptonshire Police’s thresholds for qualifying markers for crime types and the responsible officer for setting them.
· It was questioned whether it would be appropriate for a Local Authority to request the analytical vehicle tracing data from Northamptonshire Police, for use in the prosecution of fly tipping.
· Panel members praised the OPFCC Director of Delivery and the Chief Superintendent for the clarity of the presentation and commended the work of Northamptonshire Police.
The PFCC made the following points during the course of the discussion:
· Northamptonshire had a comprehensive network of roads. The benefit to the public of Northamptonshire Police addressing out of county criminal activity within Northamptonshire would outweigh the small impact on cost and resources.
· The amalgamation of ANPR cameras and monitoring systems was beneficial and further improvements were anticipated.
· The quality of markers placed on the intelligence data could be improved.
· The Police dashboard showed 10 missing persons (MISSPER) in Northamptonshire. Current ANPR technology would be utilised to assist, alongside the CCTV Network, with finding them in a timely manner. It was estimated that 78 person hours would be spent per day to locate MISSPERs, any improvement in technology and connectivity of working practices would improve recovery time and enable resources to be redeployed to addressing criminal activity.
The OPFCC Director of Delivery made the following additional points during the course of the discussion:
· Addressing out of county criminal activity would be considered a good use of resources, contributing to making safer Northamptonshire’s streets.
· When the ANPR system identified a cloned vehicle via the index plate or vehicle registration number plate the DVLA would share the information data with Northamptonshire Police.
· The PFCC had invested in an app called Qlik, a visualisation tool, which enabled the OPFCC Director of Delivery and the Chief Superintendent to monitor the three sets of data from the 3 million reads per day.
· The Local Authority had been advised that they could purchase ANPR cameras which could be fitted through the data impact assessment to the National ANPR service.
· The Safer Roads Alliance had met and were in the process off consulting with the Chief Executives of the Local Authorities, the NPFCC and the NPC regarding the options for additional speed cameras.
The Chief Superintendent – Enabling Services made the following additional points during the course of the discussion:
· ANPR markers were placed on a car linked to a criminal or criminal activity. The detail within the marker enabled the classification of the crime type and for it to be prioritised accordingly. Dispatchers were well skilled in identifying threat and deploying resources appropriately.
· In making an application for a marker there would be a degree of officer's judgment, there was no defined criteria beyond being proportionate and necessary.
· ANPR could be used as an overt surveillance tool, gathering information about the location of a car, or as a direct surveillance tool, which would be regulated and require the authorisation of a Superintendent. This enabled the tracking of an individual to gather private information.
· The locating of a ANPR camera would be subject to a data protection impact assessment and justification provided.
· Northamptonshire Police did not provide a service to external agencies to share information to prevent a crime being committed. The force might be in a position to share information if, in doing so, it would not identify an individual and would be a subject of discussion with the local police contact.
· The ANPR cameras and speed cameras worked on two different systems and each had separate and distinct functions.