Government urged to crackdown on illegal number plates amid national security fears
The widespread misuse of license plates is endangering road safety and even threatening national security, a new report has found.
Researchers estimate that up to one in 15 vehicles may use license plates designed to evade automatic license plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
These include “ghost plates”, which have reflective coatings that prevent detection, and “license plate cloning”, in which criminals illegally copy another vehicle’s registration.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Transport Safety (APPGTS), which produced the report, said avoiding ANPR cameras sometimes “requires nothing more complicated than cellophane, leaves or a marker”.
It has been announced that misuse of the license plate system can facilitate crimes ranging from evading traffic tickets and fines to drug dealing and organized crime.
APPGTS recommended that the number of licensed number plate dealers should be reduced “significantly” from the current level of 34,455 by introducing annual fees and higher standards.
Many sellers were found operating out of private homes or small workshops, with no background checks whatsoever.
The investigation revealed that some of those using customers’ identification documents had criminal convictions for violence and fraud.
The report also called for standardization of license plate design, which would include banning 3D and 4D versions.
APPGTS member and West Bromwich Labor MP Sarah Coombes said: “This explosive report makes clear the threat posed by ghost and cloned number plates.
“It also makes clear how the entire system has failed.
“It is completely wrong for people to commit horrific crimes and then pass themselves off as plate dealers, no questions asked.
“Those who sell these illegal license plates have been overlooked for a very long time, but now they have been rumoured.
“I hope the government intervenes in these immediately.”
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “This report makes clear that urgent action is needed to stop the widespread misuse of number plates, which has serious and far-reaching consequences for our society, from road safety to national security.
“Ghost and cloned license plates have no place on our roads as no one should be able to drive a vehicle that cannot be seen by law enforcement cameras or tracked by police.
“It is vital that we introduce new, higher safety standards for plates and those who produce them.”
The British Number Plate Manufacturers’ Association, which represents companies that produce the vast majority of number plates in the UK, said it “fully supports APG’s recommendations”.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority has been contacted for comment.
