Safe in the driving seat

Video surveillance and ANPR re-capture stolen vehicles in Bury, the U.K.

Photo by Vision Systems Europe

Innovative ADPRO video surveillance technology from Vision Systems Europe, combined with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and wireless communications from Motorola, are being used for the first time to help The Greater Manchester Police crack down on vehicle crime.  Bury Council piloted the scheme by targeting one of the busiest car parks in the district.  It installed a single infrared ANPR camera connected to an ADPRO FastTrace, incorporating ADPRO Transaction software, that is in turn integrated with the ANPR technology.  A standard Pelco PTZ camera also provided overview coverage of the area, and images from both were transmitted by wireless Motorola Canopy to the control room five miles away.

As a vehicle enters the site, its license plate is read and then compared automatically to a stolen vehicle and intelligence database, which is regularly updated for the pilot by the Greater Manchester Police.  If the car is identified as stolen, video images of the vehicle and the driver are captured via the ADPRO FastTrace along with specific details such as the time and date of capture.

The control room is equipped with ADPRO Video Central software that enables staff to search and review details of any and all cars captured together with the associated video footage.  A police officer can then be alerted and literally waiting to arrest the driver as soon as he/she returns to their vehicle.

Ged McGee, Head of Community Safety at Bury Council, is delighted with how the innovative pilot has gone, “To our best knowledge this is the first time that these different technologies have been brought together and deployed with such success.  In the pilot more than 200,000 vehicles were captured on camera, and the pilot has been helping Greater Manchester Police to review how such technology can help them in the future.“

Jeff Kitching, ADPRO Sales Director, commented, “This is an excellent example of the flexibility inherent within our technology to integrate with various disparate systems to deliver real solutions that have a real impact.  We look forward to working with Ged and his team in the future.“

     Security for Car Park