Angelique Foster, Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner, has announced her plans to fund extra automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) cameras to track down more vehicles involved in crime.
The Commissioner will fund ANPR cameras at eight new sites in Derby City, High Peak and South Derbyshire at a cost of £44k as part of her ongoing work to disrupt crime and bring more offenders to justice.
The Commissioner has already invested £424K into boosting the county's ANPR coverage to target criminals who use the road network to carry out their activities.
The latest investment will support the Commissioner's ongoing work to crackdown on drug dealing and county lines, dangerous drivers, those who commit Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) offences and neighbourhood crime including domestic burglary, robbery, theft from the person and vehicle crime. It will also support her wider efforts to reduce anti-social behaviour (ASB), helping to detect ASB suspects driving modified vehicles and high harm road users such as disqualified drivers and non-licence holders.
ANPR cameras read the registration of passing vehicles and instantly check them across several databases to identify whether a vehicle is stolen or linked to crime. It allows officers to track the movements of suspects.
Data captured by the network also helps to build an intelligence picture and assist police in their day-to-day enquiries while supporting the investigation of serious offences by specialist units. It also provides opportunities to gather evidence and maximise detections.
Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster said: "I am investing further funds to enhance the force's capabilities to detect crime. Our officers need the right equipment and tools to do their jobs effectively and to keep people safe. The expansion of our ANPR network has already proven successful, and this latest boost will create further opportunities to disrupt criminal activity and bring more offenders to justice.
"ANPR is a cost-effective policing tool feeding critical information and intelligence back to officers in real time. Each lane has the capability of recording more than 5,000 reads a day at a cost of less than £1 per day. I am keen to see further deployment to ensure Derbyshire becomes an even more difficult area for criminals to operate and remain undetected."