ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technology has now been rolled out across the country in a bid to tackle the criminals who refuse to live within the rules of normal society. The police had for some time voiced a need to have access to more accurate and up-to-date information relating to the vehicles currently on Britain’s roads. Thanks to ANPR this has now been achieved.

Alongside this new technology, computerised MOT certificates have also been introduced in order that all the information can be stored centrally. Constantly updated systems also mean that road tax can now be renewed online. Police have access to this information whenever they require it.

The UK’s ANPR system has been designed as an alert system and the technology has the ability to read over 3,000 licence plates every hour. The cameras come in two different variations, fixed and mobile. Both types capture digital images, which are then fed through the central ANPR system and converted into data. The central unit is located alongside the Police National Computer, which allows it to be cross-referenced against police data and DVLA records. In turn, the system will flag up any vehicles of interest to the police.

The purpose of ANPR cameras is to catch criminals who are using the roads to carry out their illegal activities. They are not the same as speed cameras or average speed cameras, which is to say they are not safety devices. They are also unlikely to affect the majority of honest drivers on the roads today.

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The French registration plate system changed during 2009. Prior to this the plates followed a general scheme, which came into force in 1950. The system operated in two formats; either four digits followed by two letters with a suffixed two digit registration code, known as a departement identifier or three numbers followed by three letters, with a suffixed two digit departement identifier. There were, however, some exceptions to this format, for example Corsica, which had a departement identifier of 2A or 2B.

Vehicle owners who relocated to another departement had to re-register their vehicle and there was an annual tax, known as vignette, with fees that varied depending on the departement. Only corporate vehicles are liable for vignette now, which means that there is no longer a reason for a vehicle’s departement to be displayed. 

The general scheme changed in 2009, when a new design of plate, which follow a similar format to that implemented in Italy in 1994, was introduced. This format consists of two letters followed by three numbers suffixed by two letters. There is no longer a departement identifier, although plates do have a sequential number beneath the regional logo. This information is contained within the mandatory blue strip on the right hand side. The plate is assigned to its vehicle for life and does not transfer with a change of owner or when the owner changes locale.

Previously, front and rear plates had different colour combinations, black on white at front and black on yellow to the rear, but now both plates can be black on white.

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