CCTV Network Tracks Getaway Car 434
An anonymous reader writes "The BBC is reporting that a 'pioneering number plate recognition system in Bradford played a vital role in the arrests of six suspects' after the murder of a Policewoman - within minutes of Friday's shootings, police were using the system to track the suspected getaway car." From the article: "When a car is entered on the system it will 'ping' whenever it passes one of our cameras, which makes it a lot easier to track than waiting for a patrol car to spot it."
So sophisticated... (Score:5, Informative)
For a pioneering system, this sounds very well integrated or they are just using the bad news to give a reason for the cameras. It was only last week we heard about this for the first time.
I don't like living in the UK. Big brother really is watching us
(Though I am very pleased they caught these crooks in this instance, I still don't see why a criminal would go up north, rob a store then flee to the biggest city in the country. Don't these people think about lying low?)
Re:You live in a police state: Rejoice! (Score:2, Informative)
Sigh why was he modded informative (Score:5, Informative)
Los Angeles use a similar system (Score:5, Informative)
Some guy goes to a meeting with his probation officer, and parks in front of a squad car with the plate recognition equipment in it. The system pings his ride - which was stolen.
Pretty convenient for the cops.
Terrorist don't wear seatbelts! (Score:4, Informative)
Nope sorry. Thanks to the combination of the seat belt law and the patriot act police can now pull you over for not wearing a seat belt and immediately search your vehicle. No warrent needed. Because as we all know, terrorist don't wear seatbelts. (In the US)
-Rick
Re:Sigh why was he modded informative (Score:5, Informative)
In summary:
1) Keep Your Private Items Out of View
2) Be Courteous & Non-Confrontational
3) Just Say "No" to Warrantless Searches
4) Determine if You Can Leave
5) Do Not Answer Questions without Your Attorney Present
6) Do Not Physically Resist
Some of this really goes to "No good deed goes unpunished". Even if you have nothing to hide and did nothing wrong doesn't mean you should roll over and expose your belly.
Re:This is why I use.... (Score:1, Informative)
Re:You live in a police state: Rejoice! (Score:3, Informative)
The police officers were the nearest to a reported incident at a private currency exchange for Pakistani businessmen and their families. There was no way of the owners to indicate that this was an armed robbery although the location was a frequency location for armed raids due to the large sums of money being exchanged. The officers had basic body armour - enough to protect
against knives but not bullets (cheapest kind costs £250. The body armour against bullets costs £450).
Several questions:
Why they weren't wearing bulletproof armour, then this wouldn't have happened.
Or why the customers needed to exchange large amounts of money in cash, and not use banking accounts.
Or why couldn't the panic alarm system send photographs from the CCTV cameras directly to the police station, and they would have known what they were up against.
One tiny little problem... (Score:3, Informative)
No proof of registration is needed to make up a plate, as there are perfectly valid reasons for having spare plates. Trailers and caravans don't have their own registration - they display the number plate of the vehicle towing them. So you might very well have a couple of spare plates for your main towing car lying around that you can use.
Even the dumbest of criminals will work around that problem before too long. Get spare false plates made up. Attach the false plates to the car using sticky-backed velcro or something similar. Immediately after you've carried out your robbery / murder / kidnap / etc. , duck into a car-park, rip the spare plates off, and drive away at a steady restrained place, happy in the knowledge that the cops won't be actually out looking for you, they'll be replying on Big Brother to spot your car.
Britain is unfortunately becoming a surveillance society. In addition to the number of speed cameras dotted around the country (they outnumber trees in some areas) almost every town centre is covered by CCTV. The latest plan, as referenced in TFA, wants to place cameras every 400 metres on trunk roads and motorways. No doubt it will be described by Bliar & cronies as a way to fight terrorism and crack down on crime; in effect, it will be a way for the police to massively increase their revenue by being able to monitor your speed constantly, and automatically ping you should exceed the limit. They'll then introduce per-mile road charges, motorway tolls, etc. on the back of the technology.
It really makes me very glad I left that country.
Re:Violation of Civil Liberties! (Score:5, Informative)
In the UK, they can take a DNA sample from an arrested suspect, and keep that data indefinitely even if the suspect is subsequently acquitted or not even charged. This has already been tested and found legal by the courts.
Parent post is full of misinformation (Score:5, Informative)
According to press reports, the two police officers were attending a report of a disturbance. There was no information that this was an armed robbery in progress, and the police women just happened to be the closest officers. Please remember that most city policing in Britain is done by cops on foot walking the streets with inimate knowledge of their beat area; not by remote seeming individuals running around in cars. For example, in the division that I last worked, we had 29 foot patrols and 4 vehicle patrols - which isn't to say that there aren't other vehicles around (traffic division cars, tactical patrol group, special patrol group, vice, Criminal Investigation, etc.)
Gun crimes are rare in Britain - there is no legal way for any individual to own a gun and there are stiff penalties (like jail) just for possession. Having a gun is considered a more serious crime than having drugs. If a police officer suspects that they may be faced by a person with a gun they have only to use their radio and armed officers will be on their way within seconds - literally. Guns are available at all police stations, and many (perhaps most these days) police officers are trained in using them.
In five years as a police officer, including over 1,000 arrests, I was never faced by anyone with a gun, and I can only recall a handful of times that officers had to call for backup because of suspected gun use. However, I was faced by knive wielding people six times and five times I disarmed them without injury to either of us. The first time I was faced by a man with a knife I wasn't quick enough and received a cut to the back of my hand that needed ten stitches, and the knife wielder received six years in prison.
According to all press reports, the policewomen involved in this incident did have body armor. However, body armor doesn't stop all bullet types, and there are bullet types specifically designed to penetrate such armor. The principle reason that most officers wear body armor is to protect themselves from knives, a much bigger threat than guns. Of course, this doesn't apply to all officers, those who carry guns (diplomatic protection group, anti-terrorist group, special patrol group, royal family protection officers, etc.) expect to face guns and wear appropriate protection.
Police work can never be totally safe. In Britain approximately one officer a year dies in the line of duty. However, the most common cause of death is being run over by a vehicle, deliberately or accidentally. Over the last 30 years, 12 officers have died to gunfire, and three of those were in a single incident in London.
British police value the fact they are generally unarmed. It makes the general public feel less intimidated by officers, and there is a general sense of public cooperation with the police that far exceeds that of countries where the police are armed. There have been many strident calls to routinely arm the British police, but very few of these calls have been from police officers. I think that arming British police would fundementally change the way that the British police interact with the public and cause more incidents (such as the case where over-eager officers shot and killed a suspected terrorist in the London underground, and subsequently found out that the man was merely an electrician on his way to work with no terrorist connections at all.) It would also make criminals more eager to carry guns and more willing to use them.
These two policewomen were just unlucky. A routine incident turned deadly. It happens, but it's pretty infrequent. Rules should not be based on very rare incidents.
The parent post asks why the car was allowed to travel all the way from Bradford to London. I don't know, but a number of possibilities come to mind. The most likely reason in my mind is that there was not a suitable location to isolate and take the
Re:You live in a police state: Rejoice! (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Parent post is full of misinformation (Score:3, Informative)
Re:You live in a police state: Rejoice! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Parent post is full of misinformation (Score:2, Informative)
Re:it doesn't fully explain how the police use it (Score:2, Informative)
It comes to question though who owns the registration information on your vehicle, you or the state.
For anyone who has never been to the United Kingdom, the police officers are treated very differently by the general public than in the states. In my 2 years living here, they don't seem to get the respect (Or instill the fear) that US cops do/demand.
In my experience the British prefer to avoid confrontation, and having fines like speeding mailed to you is a good example. This isn't the first roll-out of something like this in the UK. It is just on the largest scale ever. For example, in Plymouth you get fined (through the mail of course) for bringing out your garbage too early (£60), or having your garbage in your recycables and vice-versa. Walk your dog have him **censored** on the sidewalk without picking it up. Even though I see more people leave their dog's crap(and the fine is £200), more people get fined for garbage times in the city I live.