Test cameras detect thousands of number plates designed to evade recognition

Thousands of vehicle registration plates designed to evade automatic number plate recognition systems have been detected by new cameras being tested on motorways in south-east England, a BBC Panorama investigation has found. The plates include cloned registrations and so-called ghost plates, which use reflective materials to make some or all of the characters difficult for standard cameras to read. Automatic number plate recognition is used for speed enforcement, low-emission zones and criminal investigations.

MAV Systems, a major provider of ANPR technology, has tested cameras capable of identifying ghost plates. At a site near London’s Dartford Crossing, the system recorded an average of more than 1,000 detections a day over several months. At another site near the M25, detections rose from about 1,000 a day to almost 2,000, while a site near Folkestone recorded more than 400 a day.

The minister responsible for vehicle registration told the programme that a national plan had been started to establish the scale of the problem and determine possible action. The UK has about 14,000 ANPR camera sites, which capture roughly 100 million number plates daily. Families told Panorama that illegal plates had been involved in fatal road incidents.

Sharon Gannon’s son Jason Wallis died in a 2023 crash in Buckinghamshire involving motorcycles and a car. In another case, 81-year-old Graham Slinn was killed by a car with cloned plates. Driver Cain Byrne was jailed for 11 years and six months after being convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and related offences.

The investigation found that number plates could be bought without adequate checks. Of 34,000 businesses registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to supply plates, only two had been prosecuted and removed from the register since 2020, according to a Freedom of Information request. Buying a ghost plate is not itself illegal, but using one on a vehicle is.