There has been quite a concern about foreigners and their contribution to cross-border crime. So I was not surprised to hear the police had a special campaign to fight it called Operation Shield. What did surprise me was that Operation Shield, far from being designed to protect Blighty from Johnny Foreigner, was a way to protect my county from far away places, such as London, of which we know little and, of course, care even less.
London, like any vibrant city, has a relative high level of crime whereas, despite being next door, Surrey has very little crime. And often the more serious crime in Surrey is perpetrated by Londoners. A significant number of Londoners drive into Surrey, often at night, to burgle and to take their ill-gotten gains back with them. This is a type of export that the Surrey people do not like. Consequently something had to be done.
It was felt that introducing border controls between Surrey and London was a step too far (although a surprising number of people are quite keen on the idea). So instead, a virtual border control was created – people driving into Surrey from London are watched, and using automatic number-plate recognition technology the Surrey police are able to detect and remove serious criminals as they cross the border.
While they are at it they can stop anyone driving an uninsured or untaxed car. And you thought they were speed cameras!
With the full knowledge that there is a strong link between the illegal use of motor vehicles and other sorts of crime, denying criminals the use of the roads will, it is thought, enable the police to better enforce the law and detect crime.
Gone are the days when a police officer had to have reasonable grounds to ask you to stop and when you were stopped you had five days to present your documentation to the police station of your choice.
Now as you travel down the A3, A24, A308, A23 your number plate is being scrutinised by a camera. The number is compared against information stored on the Police National Computer, the DVLC database or the Motor Insurers Database. Because the data can be out of date (someone could have just bought a new policy via a broker) there is a special team at the Motor Insurer Bureau dedicated to provide the police with cross-checked information, if necessary contacting the insurance broker directly. Last year this helpline dealt with 112,000 requests.
So if you find yourself driving into Surrey – remember to wave. Day or night – Surrey uses thermal imaging too. We’ll wave back – we never sleep – but you won’t be able to see us..
0 Comments View now