Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)

Method of automatically reading the characters on a vehicles number plate. Used regularly by Police in the UK to detect vehicles on the road without insurance or tax. Also used in vehicle entry systems.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition is used throughout the UK at various fixed locations, as well as common temporary locations, similarly to mobile speed cameras. ANPR is also used in many Police vehicles to passively detect vehicles with potential issues - uninsured, untaxed, or flagged as stolen.

The UK's National ANPR CCTV network is under continued development, with an aim to link together existing CCTV systems, in order to reduce costs. The National ANPR CCTV network connects directly to the National ANPR Data Centre.

ANPR is used on a long stretch of the M42 motorway, in order to track vehicles and enhance the M42's Active Traffic Management Scheme.

Last updated on 26 January 2009, at 14:04.