Driverless cars are to be tested on roads in Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Coventry, and Bristol from next month after the area’s bids to run the trials were approved in a competition.

£10m of funding from Innovate UK, the Technology Strategy Board sponsored by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, will allow the testing of driverless cars in a real-world environment in a bid to achieve “greater levels of understanding of these vehicles”. The trials, Innovate UK said, would also “allow the public to accept how the vehicles will fit into everyday life”.

The Government wants to establish the UK as the global hub for the research, development and integration of driverless vehicles. The DfT intervened to put in place a study of driver and other road user reactions to the driverless vehicles “to reassure the public”.

Nick Jones, lead technologist for the low carbon vehicle innovation platform at Innovate UK, said: “Cars that drive themselves would represent the most significant transformation in road travel since the introduction of the internal combustion engine. But it’s vital that trials are carried out safely, and… we learn everything we can through the trials so that legal, regulation and protection issues don’t get in the way.”

Source: Transport Xtra

More than 75 vehicles were seized by police in Northamptonshire during a month-long operation to target those who drive on the county’s roads without proper insurance.

The operation aimed to send a clear message that those who get behind the wheel without valid insurance will be identified and prosecuted.

The operation ran from October 27 to November 21, with officers targeting busy main roads and using automatic number plate recognition technology (ANPR) to identify the uninsured vehicles.

The drivers were then stopped and their vehicles seized.

In total, 77 vehicles were seized over the four-week period.

The operation involved officers from Northamptonshire Police and colleagues from neighbouring forces who form part of the East Midlands Operational Support Service.

Sergeant Darron Bishop, who led the operation, said: “Although this was a specific operation to focus on uninsured drivers, it’s something we look out for all year round and the message is clear – there is no excuse for not having insurance; it is illegal and officers will seize your vehicle if you are not covered,”

ANPR cameras are supporting police forces throughout the world to reduce the number of uninsured drivers, reducing risk to other drivers and helping to drive down insurance premiums

Source: Northamptonshire Telegraph

A man who stole firewood collected for sale by two children has met them to apologise for his actions.

The 61-year-old enlisted the help of his grandson in stealing two bags of kindling from outside a house in Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury, on Saturday 18 October.

CCTV footage of the scene showed the man driving away in a red Peugeot 407, which was later spotted by ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) cameras in Folkestone and tracked down to an address in Ash.

He voluntarily attended Canterbury police station on 18 November and admitted to stealing the wood, which was valued at £8.

“Following a discussion with the children’s parents, it was agreed that the man should make amends by meeting the family to apologise.
The children had collected, chopped and bagged the wood and planned to sell it for some pocket money. The man who took it clearly did not consider their feelings but has now accepted what he did was wrong. As well as apologising to the family, he also agreed to pay the children £20 each as a way of making amends for his actions.”

– SERGEANT MARTIN WILLIAMS

Source: ITV

Five men and two women have been sentenced to a total of more than 16 years in prison after conspiring to target elderly people at supermarkets across Kent.The criminals, all from the Dagenham area, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to commit fraud after elderly people were conned out of thousands of pounds.

The group of fraudsters obtained Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) from the victims by ‘shoulder surfing’ at supermarket checkouts or cash machines. Typically, they would watch the victim input their PIN, then distract them in a car park using techniques such as asking for directions to the local hospital in order to steal the victim’s bank cards while distracted. Between January and March 2014 offences were reported in Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Maidstone, Strood, Rainham, Gillingham, Sittingbourne, Whitstable, Hawkinge, Folkestone and Hythe. All 12 victims were elderly people, with the eldest being 88 years-old.

Using store CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology (ANPR), detectives carried out extensive research and identified a Ford Focus and a Volkswagen Passat they believed were involved in the offences. On March 27, a day when three separate offences occurred in Kent, the two vehicles were located and stopped by Kent Police officers in Ilford in East London. The cars were searched and bank cards were found concealed behind a headlight compartment in one of the cars. The group was linked to a thirteenth offence, which occurred in Hertfordshire on March 26 2014. In all, their victims were defrauded out of more than £3,000. A member of the gang later admitted to further offences which had taken place in Hertfordshire dating back March 2013.

Judge Griffith-Jones referred to the group as an ‘organised gang’ and said that it was a carefully targeted conspiracy.

Detective Constable Helen King from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: “The common factor in all these offences was that the offenders targeted elderly or vulnerable people. The offenders worked in teams, and once they had the victim’s PIN they acted quickly to confuse or distract the victims in the car park, whilst simultaneously stealing their bank cards.

“They operated across Kent, sometimes swapping clothing to avoid detection, but we collected a huge amount of CCTV and electronic data that put them firmly in the location when the offences were taking place. When we inevitably caught up with them and our evidence was put to them they were left with little choice but to plead guilty. This has been a long running investigation but its conclusion is very satisfying and we will continue to pursue those who target the most vulnerable in society.

ANPR cameras are increasingly used by police throughout the world to support the prevention and detection of crime. Find our more by viewing our law enforcement pages.

Source: Kent News

Kuala Lumpur Police will use Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) equipment to identify foreign cars with outstanding summons, when entering the country.

The Auditor General’s report said the move was among measures to ensure foreigners with outstanding traffic summons settled their dues.

The AG’s report said 16.3 million summons were issued by the traffic police from 2011 to 2013 and from the total, 121,664 were summons issued to foreigners.

“Singaporeans top the total number of summons with (84,604), followed by Brunei with (25,803),” the report said adding that only 12,713 summons have been settled while the outstanding balance from the unsettled summons amounts to RM7.63 million.

For locals, only 6.7 million summons have been settled from 2011 to 2013, worth RM1.244 billion, said the report.

ALPR cameras are increasingly being used to support police in many such actions ensuring the safety and security of the world’s citizens as well as enforcing the law to all whether visitors or residents. To find out more about how ALPR cameras are supporting the police visit our law enforcement page.

Source: Astro Awani