Police use ANPR technology to pull off dramatic M1 stop in Northamptonshire

The value of Northamptonshire Police investing £1.3m in ANPR technology was underlined last night as local traffic cops dramatically stopped a stolen vehicle on the M1 within 15 minutes of the crime being reported.

We revealed yesterday how the county will soon have 100 new Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras thanks to funding agreed by Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold and Chief Constable Nick Adderley.

And within hours the local force's Armed Response Vehicle team and dogs unit pinpointed and stopped a stolen Volkswagen Golf heading along the M1.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police said: "ANPR reads the registration of passing vehicles and checks them across a number of databases, raising the alert if a vehicle is stolen or linked to crime.

"At about 8.50pm on Wednesday night, a grey Golf reported to have been stolen from Norfolk activated one of the cameras on the M1 Northbound.

"Officers from the ARV and Operations Team were deployed and used pursuit and containment tactics to bring the vechile to a safe halt just after Junction 18."

The driver, a 35-year-old man, has been arrested on suspicion of burglary.

Chief Constable, Mr Adderley, said: "ANPR is a fantastic addition to our growing arsenal of tools and equipment to enable us to fight crime and protect people.

"ANPR is also used to protect vulnerable people with the early detection and interception of high risk missing persons and victims of kidnapping as well as domestic abuse.

"We promised to make our county safer and to create a hostile environment for criminals and that is exactly what we are doing."

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