DVLA ‘invisible’ number plates update over ‘serious problem’ on UK roads

The Department for Transport has issued a new statement on the growing crisis

The Department for Transport has published a new update amid a growing number plate crisis facing Britain today. The department has faced mounting pressure in recent months on so-called ghost plates being used to dodge speed cameras and avoid police detection.

This week, the matter prompted additional parliamentary questions, resulting in a minister delivering a formal statement on the issue. On Thursday, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, Minister of State (Department for Transport), issued a response after being asked about how many DVLA staff are dedicated to monitoring compliance by registered number plate suppliers.

The question was posed following mounting concern over the widespread use of so-called ghost plates on roads across the UK. According to a Parliamentary report released in December, as many as one in 15 vehicles on British roads have altered, non-compliant plates, reports the Express.

A cross-party Parliamentary group has expressed concerns about there being nearly 35,000 different number plate suppliers operating in the UK and cautioned that some suppliers had been found “with serious and violent criminal records”. The All Party Parliamentary Group for Transport (APPGTS) warned that “the UK’s outdated and poorly regulated number plate system has created a vast and rapidly growing crisis that enables criminals and organised crime groups to operate undetected on our road network, lets dangerous drivers off the hook, poses serious safety concerns, and leads to a significant loss of public funds.”

The BBC revealed in June that a “substantial number” of criminals are exploiting number plates that traffic cameras are unable to read in order to evade detection. A former police officer told the BBC that ghost plates have been used by individuals linked to “violence against young women and girls, people smuggling, drug smuggling and other forms of organised criminality”.

A reflective coating applied to the plates makes them invisible to police Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems, allowing criminals to travel freely across the country undetected, commit traffic offences and avoid road charges and penalties. The Royal College of Policing has noted that some vehicles uncovered with ghost plates “were found to be involved in armed robberies and burglaries, used by sex offenders or involved in road traffic collisions.”

In a new statement released this week, the minister said: “The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) employs 13 staff who are involved in administering the Register of Number Plate Suppliers (RNPS) scheme. There are six RNPS Enforcement Officer posts where the post holder spends all their time on the RNPS scheme. Please note that two of these posts are currently vacant while new members are recruited.

“There are also four staff who deal with RNPS queries and applications as part of their role. The team is managed by an Executive Officer for whom this is 50 per cent of their role, a Higher Executive Officer for whom this is 70 per cent of their role and a Senior Executive Officer for whom this is 40 per cent of their role.”

The inquiry raises significant concerns about whether sufficient official resources are being allocated to combat ghost plates. It was tabled by Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat – Life peer) and followed an earlier exchange on the subject in June.

At that time, Lord Pack asked: “My Lords, it was recently stated in the House of Commons that 34,000 suppliers of number plates are registered with the DVLA. Given the widespread problems with illegal number plates helping people dodge the law, can the Minister tell us how many DVLA staff are allocated to policing compliance by those 34,000 suppliers and whether that number is sufficient?”

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill responded at the time by saying: “The noble Lord is right that this is a serious problem on a significant scale. The Government acknowledge that more needs to be done. A recent consultation closed on 11 May and the actions that we propose to take following the review of the consultation will include legislative change, if needed. I cannot tell him how many people currently do that job but I will write to him with the figure.”

Earlier this year, members of the House of Lords voiced concerns regarding the production and use of number plates specifically engineered to evade enforcement cameras, including ANPR systems.

Also speaking in Parliament earlier this year, Sarah Coombes, Labour MP for West Bromwich, stated: “I have spent the last year campaigning against ghost number plates, which make drivers invisible to speed and police cameras. These plates are great for car racers and criminals and terrible for the rest of us.”

What are ghost plates?

So-called ‘ghost plates’, also known as 3D and 4D plates, are specifically manufactured to avoid detection by speed and bus lane cameras. Police forces throughout the country are now reported to be equipping themselves with sophisticated cameras capable of identifying those who are flouting the law.

In April, the then departing chief of the UK’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition system disclosed that roughly one in 15 motorists were taking advantage of flaws within the system, which he characterised as ‘staggeringly simple’ to fool. Professor Fraser Sampson, who was leaving his role as Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, expressed his concerns in correspondence to the Transport Secretary about the insufficient action being undertaken to address the issue.

To combat the escalating problem, councils have pledged to introduce new technology, with local enforcement officers being provided with specially developed cameras engineered to ‘see’ the elusive plates as part of a broader clampdown. Drivers caught utilising these illegal plates could face a £100 fine.

Professor Sampson stated in his correspondence that motorists can evade traffic penalties by cloning number plates, applying reflective tape, or purchasing ‘stealth plates’. He additionally cautioned that number plate recognition accuracy presently sits at merely 97%, producing approximately 2.4 million misreadings each day, leaving law-abiding motorists at risk of receiving entirely unwarranted fines.