The force wide Automatic Number Plate Recognition infrastructure consists of 30 Spike P372 cameras located on major routes in Durham County. The system works by reading the number plates of all the passing vehicles and comparing them with the Police National Computer (PNC) database.
Any known or suspected criminal vehicles which pass the cameras are monitored and their whereabouts checked should a crime be committed while they are in the county.
Force ANPR Project team leader PC Paul Black said: “Criminals will often travel many miles to commit crime and often cross county borders. This operation sends out a clear message that they cannot come to Durham to commit crime and get away with it. The cameras are extremely high-tech and record the number plates of vehicles passing them.”
The Spike cameras operate 24 hours a day, in any weather conditions.
“PIPS’ Spike camera is extremely suitable for this type of deployment, as it contains the ANPR camera, illuminator and processor, all in one rugged package, providing savings in system cost, complexity and timescales,”. Paul Negus, PIPS Technology managing director said. “When we were asked to put a system together for Durham Constabulary’s project Spike really was the best option.”
