|
Cracking down on dangerous drivers in Tooting |
|
Tuesday, 02 March 2010 08:43 |
|
Dangerous and illegal drivers were given a bad day last weekend, as local police officers and Special Constables used cutting edge technology, and good old 20/20 vision, to target uninsured and dangerous drivers in Tooting.
Tooting MP Sadiq Khan joined 14 Special Constables and 4 Metropolitan Police officers for the operation on Tooting Bec Road, which scanned thousands of cars and led to over 40 cars being stopped and checked by officers.
Drivers were stopped for speeding, using mobile phones, driving without a seatbelt and driving without tax or insurance. Of the 40 vehicles that were stopped, 7 drivers received fixed penalty notices for driving without seatbelts or using mobiles phones, and 2 drivers were caught driving illegally without insurance.
The operation used Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to identify suspect vehicles. The ANPR devices work by scanning vehicle registrations to identify vehicles of interest to the police such as stolen cars, those involved in crimes and those which are uninsured.
When a suspicious vehicle is recognised, it is pulled over and the driver questioned by police officers.
Sadiq Khan MP said, “This is a vital tool for our police forces, as it helps to crack down all sorts of criminality.
“The system is widely used throughout the country, and has proved to be effective in catching individuals wanted for a wide variety of offences – including drug dealing, sexual offences, fraud and immigration – as well as motoring offences.
“I was really impressed with effectiveness and organisation of the scheme, which ensures minimum disruption to drivers while pin-pointing suspect cars to be checked by the police.
“Operations like this make our streets safer and ensure that the overwhelming majority of drivers are not affected, increasing public confidence in the police.”
Special Constable and Borough Divisional Office Fred Ahmed said, “Automatic Number Plate Recognition is an excellent weapon to help make our streets safer, and combat vehicle crime and other motoring offences.
“The technology allows us to take illegal vehicles and un-insured and un-taxed drivers off our streets, but also helps catch criminals wanted for other offences.”
|
Promoted by Tooting Labour Party on behalf Sadiq Khan and Tooting Labour Party, all of 58 Trinity Road, Tooting, SW17 7RH. Hosted by 34SP.com, 349 Bury Old Road, Manchester, M25 1PY.
