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ANPR STRATEGY FOR THE POLICE SERVICE - 2007/2010

September2007

FOREWORD

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology allows vehicle registration marks to be ‘read’ by cameras and for the details to be compared against identified database records. The use of ANPR technology was for a period of 20 years largely restricted to counter terrorism purposes however, since 2002 the Home Office Police Standards Unit (PSU) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) have ensured considerable development of ANPR as a core policing tool. This strategy document builds on these developments and the earlier ANPR Strategy for the Police Service 2005/08.

‘Project Laser’ was the first pilot for greater use of ANPR that was conducted in 9 forces. Evaluation of this pilot showed that officers using ANPR were significantly more effective in the arrest of offenders than conventional methods of policing per officer hour. As a consequence of this success, the Government provided over £32 million of capital investment to develop the use of ANPR at a national, regional and local level between 2005 and 2007.

National infrastructure developments include specifically the National ANPR Data Centre (NADC) and a Back Office Facility (BOF) system to provide data storage and analysis tools to all forces. This infrastructure will be delivered in the financial year to March 2008. The systems will enable forces to gain significant benefit from ANPR with regard to dealing with terrorism, organised and volume crime and road traffic casualty reduction.

The challenge for the police service, working with a range of partner agencies, is to obtain full benefits from ANPR in support of Intelligence, Operational and Investigative aspects of policing. It is an objective for this strategy to embed ANPR into mainstream policing activity.

Long term success will only be achieved if ANPR moves from its current status in many forces as an add-on project to becoming a mainstream policing tool, integrated into police force strategies and policy, tactics, systems, processes, training and baseline funding. In doing so, the focus needs to move from consideration of the technological issues around ANPR, important as these will continue to be, to recognising that it the business processes to fully and strategically exploit ANPR as anIntelligence, Operationaland Investigative resource that will bring the best returns.

By becoming a core part of what the police service does on a day-to-day basis, ANPR has the capability of delivery the ACPO strategic aim to:

‘Target Criminals through their Use of the Roads’
Frank Whiteley
Chief Constable
Hertfordshire Constabulary
Chair, National ANPR Programme Board

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This document (Systems Security Policy) is a public document and should be made available as required. This document can be published on any Web Site that the public have access to.
STRATEGIC INTENT

The strategic intent of the ANPR strategy for the Police Service is to:

‘Target Criminals through their Use of the Roads’

by exploiting the full potential of ANPR, at national, Regional and local levels within the Police Service of England and Wales, acting, where appropriate, in partnership with others.

In achieving this intention, the ANPR Strategy will help to meet primary Police Service aims to:

  • Reduce crime and terrorism
  • Increase the number of offences brought to justice, includingfor serious and major crime
  • Reduce road traffic casualties
  • Make the public feel safer and more confident in the policeservice
  • Make more efficient use of police resources

The ANPR strategy will do this by achieving secondary (indirect) aims

to:

  • Deter criminals and terrorists through increased likelihood ofdetection
  • Disrupt criminals activities and networks by intelligence ledinterventions
  • Remove prolific and serious offenders from our streets
  • Increase arrests
  • Increase sanctioned detections
  • Increase the likelihood of positive Criminal Justice outcomes(charges / guilty pleas / convictions)
  • Increase the seizure of uninsured etc vehicles
  • Remove those drivers more at risk of causing RTC's from theroads
  • Improve compliance with Road Traffic laws
  • Increase visible policing
  • Able to see greater police success in tackling criminality onthe roads
  • Increased victim satisfaction with the outcome of reportedcrimes
  • Increase the proportion of stop / searches that lead to anarrest
  • More productive police interventions
  • Provide increased opportunities for early investigative lines ofenquiry
  • Improved use of intelligence to direct intelligence ledoperations

ANPR STRATEGY FOR THE POLICE SERVICE

To achieve the strategic intent, namely to‘Target Criminals through their Use of the Roads’, the Police Service will:
  • Work with Partner Agencies at National, Regional and Local Level to Share Assetsand Data, avoid Duplication and enhance Operational Effectiveness
  • Proactively maintain National support and momentum for ANPR within the Police Service, partner agencies and Government
  • Working with the ANPR industry, continue to develop and exploit Technologyto support ANPR activities
  • Promote the better collection, use and weeding of vehicle intelligence to support ANPR activity, including utilisation of appropriate databases from other agencies
  • Integrate ANPR into mainstream Police business processes for Intelligence, Operational and Investigative purposes
  • Develop and Promote awareness of and Good Practice in regard to ANPR Activities
  • Develop and review guidance in regard to ANPR and legislative issues, such as Data Protection, Freedom of Information, and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
  • Review and evaluate ANPR activity
  • Review the ANPR strategy for the police service to ensure it remains up to date

DELIVERY OF THE ANPR STRATEGY FOR THE POLICE SERVICE

At a National level, the multi-agency National ANPR Programme Board will assume the overall lead for the direction of ANPR. This Board will be supported by other Boards and Working Groups to take forward specific aspects of delivery.

Within the Police Service, this strategy will be delivered with the support of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA). Key elements of that support are in relation to:

  • The continued development and maintenance of national infrastructure and in particular NADC and BOF capabilities, as well as assistance and guidance to Forces on the procurement of ANPR technology.
  • The provision of strategic guidance for the service to promote good practice in ANPR use as an Intelligence, Operational and Investigative resource.
  • The provision of Assisted Implementation support to police forces to support the local implementation of ANPR to agreed national standards, and in particular to:
  • Providing a communication plan to raise awareness of ANPR and its benefits
  • Provide a standard method of delivery to improve local and national efficiency and also force preparedness for any future HMIC inspections.
  • Promote the use of standard terminology and procedures to enable inter force collaboration and common understanding.
  • Provide a single interpretation of guidance and national standards to aid effective service delivery.
  • Assist forces in precise assessment of their capability to implement change, enabling the development of local, achievable action plans. Risks to implementation will be identified to enable mitigation at local and national levels.
  • Capture, validate and promulgate good practice to aid efficient and effective implementation of change.
  • Assist in determining interdependent and common improvement activities to aid timely, structured and cohesive delivery to reduce impact on forces.
  • Provide a phased approach to delivery of change to maximise impact through co-ordination of services offered by the NPIA.
  • Co-ordination of a wider programme of work in support of ANPR at National level, with partner agencies and the private sector to;

-continue to develop ANPR and related technology, including a programme to deal with any counter measures to ANPR that become evident.

-produce synergies in activities between agencies to optimise their use of ANPR

-ensuring links are made to other appropriate programmes of work in the Police Service

-identify additional resources to support ANPR activity

-initiate work to evaluate the benefits from ANPR activity

RELATED ACTIVITIES

This strategy can be used to provide individual Forces with a starting point for their own, in Force, ANPR strategies.

It is accompanied by a number of other key documents including a Communications and Marketing Plan, Assisted Implementation Project Initiation Document and an Assisted Implementation Delivery Plan, which Forces should also make use of.

Further advise in regard to ANPR can be obtained from the;

-National ANPR Website. This is a secure website and access can be gained via an e-mail to

-National ANPR Co-ordinator:

John Dean.

-NPIA assisted Implementation Team,

Implementation Manager

Bill Mandeville,

Implementers:

Ian Bond,

Chris Knox,

MILESTONES

A number of key milestones have been identified within constituent projects for ANPR with an intention that these will support the embedding of ANPR into core police business be March 2010, these include:

  • Publication of revised National ACPO ANPR Standards (NAAS) – January 2008
  • National Rollout of Back Office Facility (BOF) II version 2.2 – March 2008
  • National Rollout of the National ANPR Data Centre connectivity (NADC) – March 2008
  • National Rollout of Back Office Facility (BOF) II version 2.3 – March 2009
  • ANPR embedded into core police business – March 2010

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