Police Crack Down on Illegal Number Plates
As part of Operation Dragon, ANPR officers will be stopping vehicles with number plates that:
* Display adjusted fixings or bolts which alter spaces or obscure characters to appear as something else.
* Use any font that is not the standard DVLA approved “Charles Wright” font
* Use offensive wording
* Are not easily readable or recognised by the naked eye
Number plates should also be made from a reflective material
Front number plates must display black characters on a white background and rear plates must display black characters on a yellow background.
Operation Dragon is a collaboration between forces in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, and will clamp down on motorists displaying non-standardised registration plates.
Officers using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology will target anyone displaying plates that fail to meet the DVLA strict criteria.
Those caught will be stopped by police and face up to a £1,000 fine.
A similar operation was launched earlier in the year, where 300 drivers were handed penalties for using misrepresented number plates.
Inspector Andy Piper, Hertfordshire’s ANPR manager, said: “Following the success of this operation earlier in the year, ANPR teams across the counties will be involved in the operation to keep the roads safe and deter criminals from coming into these areas to commit crime.
“Addressing misrepresented registrations is a very important part of our work as plates that are difficult to read and pose a threat to identifying vehicles that may be used for criminal activities.
“If your number plate is not a standard format you could be stopped and face a large fine.
“I would therefore urge anyone using a misrepresented or non-standard plate to check the legal criteria and if necessary change their licence plate immediately.
“Ignorance of these regulations will not be accepted as an excuse should you be stopped.”
