ANPR cameras are being used to target innocent motorists

Much of what Big Brother Watch does surrounds our observation that increasingly the law-abiding citizen is being targeted for punitive and spurious reasons by local councils, the police and our national government.

Sometimes we are presented with newsworthy examples of this behaviour (see here and here) but rarely do we find concrete evidence that uncovers those in authority deliberately abusing their position.

As reported in a sensational piece in the Independent on Sunday:

Police are using controversial car-surveillance technology aimed at catching criminals and terrorists to target members of the public in order to meet government performance targets and raise revenue.

Police whistleblowers claim that intelligence stored on the national Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) database is "at least 30 per cent inaccurate", which has led to the wrongful arrest of innocent motorists and the seizure of their cars.

Big Brother Watch has already written about the worrying rise of ANPR cameras - surveillance cameras that cross-reference your number plate with police intelligence and data from the DVLA as you drive past. It seems our fears were justified:

Internal documents seen by the IoS suggest zealous use of the ANPR system by some officers in Hertfordshire Police, the lead force for developing ANPR strategies, led to a disturbing culture among its road policing teams.

The target culture has allegedly led to unethical practices during roadside stops, according to concerned police sources. Some officers, they say, trawl through drivers' personal data on police databases to find any reason to arrest. Alternatively, they "wind up" motorists who, in their frustration, become abusive and are then arrested for a public-order offence.

"In short, officers do not have a complete understanding of the law, use flawed databases to justify immediate seizures, fail to adequately research and evidence the basis of their belief and almost certainly knowingly seize vehicles just to satisfy service and personal performance targets," one said.

Whistleblowers also expressed concern that managers are "engineering" arrests to meet targets. Officers have been sent to re-arrest drivers fined for driving without insurance. Before cars can be released from the pound the driver has to apply for insurance. "[Officers were] checking with insurers if Mr Smith had declared his recent penalty," said one officer. "If the answer was 'no' they arrested him for obtaining insurance fraudulently."

These 'internal documents' seen by the IoS are simply incredible and deserve far wider recognition and full investigation. Having objected to ANPR previously on the grounds that it was yet another surveillance system in the UK, this report shows that not only is it intrusive – it is leading to false arrests and frankly unacceptable policing. 

In an election year we are very grateful for this timely piece of evidence and will be calling for a commitment to scrap ANPR cameras at the first opportunity from all the parties.

By Dylan Sharpe