Forecourt operators are all too familiar with the issue of fake and doctored number plates, which fuel thieves use to commit their crimes, but the UK’s vehicle registration system is so dysfunctional and open to abuse it represents a national security risk, an all-party parliamentary group has found.
Around 2.8m vehicles are thought to wear non-compliant number plates. The two most common types of doctored registrations are ‘ghost’ plates, which contain materials that leave them unreadable to ANPR cameras; and cloned plates, which are made using registrations copied from similar vehicles. Both leave the vehicles of perpetrators of crime largely untraceable.
Police and industry experts have been sounding the alarm over the UK’s easily exploitable number plate system for years, with a detailed report into the matter being compiled and shared with ministers in 2020. Meaningful changes, however, have yet been made to regulate an industry that comprises 34,000 licensed but unmonitored number-plate suppliers, and revolves around simple pieces of plastic that feature no security measures whatsoever.
Now, change could be on the horizon, with the release of a report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety (APPGTS) that should make the compromised nature of the UK’s unglamorous but vital and number-plate system unignorable for ministers.
The report highlights that as many as one in 15 of the UK’s 42m vehicles are thought to wear doctored plates, which are used to help facilitate all manner of criminal activity, from simple, individual incidents of theft and road-charge evasion, to organised criminal and terrorist activity.
The APPGTS’ inquiry into the subject heard that: “Ghost plates pose a serious threat to counter-terrorism operations. Vehicles with stealth plates can bypass surveillance systems around critical infrastructure such as airports, government buildings, and transport hubs. This creates vulnerabilities that could be exploited by terrorist groups planning vehicle-borne attacks.’’
Solutions recommended by the parliamentary group include a tightening-up of the approval process for plate suppliers; the introduction of simple checks during MOT tests; and the addition of security measures to number-plate materials.
Forecourt Trader has been one of the few publications to highlight issues with the UK’s number-plate system, warning that over one in 10 drive-offs is committed using a vehicle with doctored plates.
The issue has been taken up by Sarah Coombes, the MP for West Bromwich, who has worked with police and Trading Standards organisations to draw attention to an issue that serves as a “gaping hole” to be exploited by individuals and groups with nefarious intent.
Coombes describes the APPGTS’ report as “explosive”, and said it “makes clear how the whole system is failing”, adding:
“It’s totally wrong that people can commit terrible crimes and then set themselves up as number plate sellers with no questions asked. Those selling these illegal plates have gone under the radar for too long – but now they’ve been rumbled. I hope the government cracks down on them immediately.”
Michael Flanagan, chair of the British Number Plate Manufacturers Association, which represents reputable suppliers, says his organisation “fully supports” the recommendations made in the report, while the RAC’s head of policy, Simon Williams, comments:
“It’s clear from this report that urgent action must be taken to stop the widespread abuse of number plates, which has serious and far-reaching consequences for our society from road safety to national security. Ghost and cloned plates have no place on our roads as no one should be able to drive a vehicle that’s invisible to enforcement cameras or untraceable by the police.
“It’s vital we introduce new, higher security standards for number plates and those who produce them.”
