Registration recognition system to help gardaí spot car tax dodgers
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) devices have been fitted in 70 squad cars and 30 more will be on the roads in all Garda divisions across the country early in the new year.
They instantly record the registrations of every passing vehicle — even on multi-lane motorways — and flash up cases where the car is untaxed. They will also provide notification if a car is speeding, has been reported stolen or is wanted by gardaí in connection with a crime.
In time it is planned to link the system with the data bases of the NCT (National Car Test) and insurance companies so that uninsured vehicles or cars without valid test certificates also flash up.
Previously a garda on patrol who had suspicions about a vehicle had to call their station to check the in-house PULSE data system for details.
Superintendent Ken Brennan, traffic superintendent for the Dublin region, said the system would not only speed up the process of identifying law breakers but also allowed gardaí target those in breach of the law without inconveniencing those who complied with it.
“Up to now the main way we’ve checked tax and insurance and other matters is by stopping everyone at checkpoints so we’re inconveniencing a lot of people unnecessarily. In future, people who have their tax, insurance and NCT will have nothing to worry about but the people who have not got those things in order will need to worry all the more.”
Along with the introduction of ANPR, the force has deployed eight new ROBOT mobile speed detection units to tackle speeding. The specially fitted Ford Transit vans have infra-red cameras on board which can be used day or night, replacing the older “Gatso” vans which could only be used in daylight.
They also have onboard computers that allow the details of speeding cars to be immediately processed and burnt to CD for delivery to the fines office so that fines notices are issued faster than previously.
Another six ROBOTS are to be put into action in the new year and will target areas notorious for accidents.
“The whole purpose of deploying them is that we don’t want to be catching motorists speeding — we want to deter them from speeding. We’re deliberately notifying people in advance on the Garda website where the collision prone locations are and telling them that the vans will be rotating between those locations. We’re trying to get people to slow down and prevent accidents.”
The vans, which can be operated by a lone garda, have magnetic strips bearing the official Garda and speed camera emblems that can be removed so that the vehicles are left plain white if necessary for discreet surveillance. Supt Brennan said both the ANPR and ROBOT technology was sufficiently advanced to have an expected life span in the force of between 15 and 20 years.
Figures released this week showed there were 173,251 speeding detections this year. Gardaí say speed is the single biggest contributory factor in road deaths and serious injuries.
