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Hi-tech cameras used to catch Lincolnshire burglar could lead to more arrests
Monday, May 02, 2011, 07:00

A NUMBER plate recording device which led to the capture of one of Lincolnshire's most prolific burglars could catch more criminals thanks to a new national system, say police.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) has been used by Lincolnshire Police for about six years.
And last year, 194 arrests were made through information gained from the current system, while this year 44 arrests have been made.
The technology was integral in catching a man who had been committing burglaries in Nettleham and Saxilby last year.

It saw career burglar Mark Marriott admit more than 200 offences in Lincolnshire and other counties after he was caught by the technology.
Currently, there are a number of fixed cameras around the county along with some attached to patrol cars.
But now, the whole system has been linked to a national hub, which will make it easier to track criminals working across the country and potentially boost arrest rates.

Spokesman for Lincolnshire Police, Dick Holmes, said: "It does tend to be used in detecting serious crimes because if someone has committed a burglary or assault, if the car is picked up, it's tagged with a warning.
"It is a very important tool in our tool box and leads to hundreds of arrests across the county each year."
The central hub picks up 15 million readings a day, but not all police officers have access to it.

Chief Superintendent for operations Russ Hardy said: "If your vehicle goes through an ANPR camera and you are wanted for a crime, you could see that, but now, say your number plate was seen in Lincolnshire and then Cornwall minutes later, you can also start to ID ringers – cars with the same details.
"The main thing that is better with this system is that data is being picked up nationally.
"It is for serious and major crime investigations and you have to have a certain level of authority to look at it.
John Siddle, of the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, said: "We have used ANPR on a number of occasions to try to track vehicles when we have required witnesses to collisions.
"People can witness collisions, but because they live far away, they are unaware we are looking for anyone in conjunction with the collision.
"Now the system is centralised we can look right across the country so if a vehicle flags up to us, we can inform other forces.
"In the past we have gone to great lengths to try to track a vehicle and unfortunately it has not popped up.
"Using this system can also corroborate people's statements.
"People can report, for example, that a vehicle cut them up and if that vehicle doesn't appear on the ANPR just prior or post incident, we can add that to evidence."