Calls for ghost-plate detection to link with speed enforcement

Redspeed International says illegal ghost plates are undermining ANPR enforcement and require technology that can detect offending vehicles and capture evidence of speeding and other crimes.

BBC Panorama’s Ghost Plates: Drivers Cheating the Law, broadcast on 28 September, showed how ghost and cloned plates can help dangerous drivers and criminals evade detection while leaving innocent motorists facing penalties.

Tom Duckham, chief executive of Redspeed International, said: “Panorama has brought important public attention to the growing problem of ghost plates. They are not a minor technical issue or a victimless shortcut: they undermine the ability of police and enforcement authorities to identify vehicles, protect innocent motorists and hold dangerous drivers to account.

“The programme highlighted technology capable of detecting and reading ghost plates that can defeat conventional ANPR. That is an essential step forward. But for road safety, detection cannot be the end of the process. We also need systems capable of supporting enforcement where a vehicle is speeding or committing another offence.

“A driver who has chosen to fit a ghost plate may be doing so precisely because they believe they can evade speed cameras and other forms of accountability. Technology must remove that advantage. The objective should be straightforward: identify the illegal plate, capture robust evidence and ensure unsafe driving cannot be hidden behind it.”

Redspeed says its Home Office Type-Approved Sentio Shield combines speed enforcement with ghost-plate detection, while Sentio Ghost flags anomalies and captures evidence.

The company also welcomed the planned National Roads Policing Coordination Centre, which will coordinate intelligence and technology targeting illegal plates, organised crime and penalty evasion. Its wider analysis appears in Enforcement in the age of evasion: staying ahead of ghost plates and non-compliance.

Tom Duckham added: “The Government’s decision to establish the National Roads Policing Coordination Centre is a timely and welcome recognition that illegal number plates, including ghost plates, are a direct threat to the integrity of our road-safety system.

“The NRPCC can help turn technology and intelligence into more consistent action by connecting police intelligence, roadside enforcement, camera systems and vehicle data. It is exactly the kind of agile, collaborative response needed to stay one step ahead, close loopholes quickly and show clearly that accountability still matters.”