Police target illegal plates
Date: 29/01/2008 11:24:20
Motorists who use vehicles to carry out crimes - potentially risking more than a car insurance claim - are the target of a police operation in West Mercia.
Operation Larch has been launched to crack down on offenders who customise their number plates to make them difficult to spot by police cameras, the Evesham Journal reports.
According to the publication, the trend for personalised plates has been rowing rapidly over the past few years.
Sergeant John Roberts, West Mercia's casualty reduction manager, warned that investigations into crimes can be adversely affected if police are unable to correctly read the number plate.
"Number plates must be easy to read, not only by enforcement agencies but also by people who may witness collisions or a serious crime involving a vehicle. Investigations to these incidents can be seriously hampered if witnesses are unable to read number plates properly," he stated.
The Press Association recently reported that every police force in England and Wales would be looking to tackle the use of illegal number plates.