Roadblocks working in crime fight

Jan 17 2006

HI-TECH road blocks are proving a potent weapon in the fight against crime. There have been 4,500 roadside arrests in London in the last two years - among those collared have been violent gun thugs and drug dealers. PAUL RHYS walks the streets with the capital's top copper to see technology in action SIR Ian Blair hardly needed to give his speech about the new technology helping police snare criminals on our streets. London's top cop was in South London being shown how hi-tech road blocks are cracking down on everything from driving offences to gun crime. But as the commissioner spoke to the South London Press, thugs were being cuffed and led away in the background - proof perhaps that the system is working. Cops are delighted at the success of their vehicle recognition teams that are giving car-driving criminals nowhere to hide. Within 10 minutes of the South London Press arriving at the road block in Camberwell on Thursday, two arrests had been made and one halted driver was found to be carrying an offensive weapon. This wasn't simply the fruits of a oneoff demonstration to impress Sir Ian. The Met's automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) teams are watching our streets every day on the lookout for offenders of every description. And bagging a hoodlum couldn't be simpler. At one end of the road, a nondescript white van is parked by the kerb. Your average car thief or bail jumper has no idea as he drives along, but the van is packed with cutting-edge technology. As soon as he drives past, the net closes in. Cameras mounted on the back of the van clock the vehicle's number plate, sending the info into a computer containing nearly every national database. An alarm sounds in the van and a specially-trained police operator instantly sees the vehicle and the driver's history. Wanted for jumping bail on an assault charge? You're there, car nicked the previous day in Cardiff?, there's no escape. The operator quickly radios a team of coppers a few hundred yards down the road, the car is stopped and another potential offender is off the streets. Although low-level offences such as failing to register a car will also be pulled up, that in itself has proved crucial in catching hardened criminals. As Sir Ian said last week: "People who commit robbery and burglary don't tend to insure or register their cars. "Pulling cars over for being uninsured has led us to find people with firearms in the boot." He added that ANPR teams were working alongside Operation Trident [the police unit tackling gun crime in the black community] to target crime "hot spots" such as Camberwell. In Southwark, the teams have clinched a string of results in the fight against gun crime. On January 5, they stopped a driver believed to be involved in a series of burglaries and knifepoint robberies. A probe then found the car had been used in an armed robbery, leading cops to an address where they uncovered a cache of firearms and ammunition. It's hoped those involved will soon be behind bars. Sir Ian added: "Southwark is a very successful borough in the fight against crime. "This initiative is about making life even harder for criminals across the capital. "We have a record of at least 100 arrests per officer per year and a significant number of people caught with no insurance or registration. "We're about to really ruin some villains' days." He then posed next to a car that moments before had been found to be stolen, joking: "Should I be doing this? I don't want my prints on record." The joke is on criminals who until now have thought they can drive around our streets with impunity. Superintendent Ian Chappell, from the Met's traffic unit, told us there are fewer places to hide. He said: "It's making the criminal in the car vulnerable. "People are fed up of crime and antisocial behaviour and want something done about it. "This is doing something about it, and our capability is growing all the time."

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