One charged, two more arrested during Northamptonshire Police ANPR crackdown

Police charged a 38-year-old man and seized drugs and a knife during an operation on Tuesday (July 5) as part of a week of action against drug harm.

Officers used ANPR cameras to target vehicles of interest, leading to six stop-searches, three vehicle searches and three arrests — including a Kettering man charged with possession of a bladed article in a public place.

Two other arrests were for breaching a domestic violence prevention order and suspicion of drug-driving.

Chief Inspector Nathan Murray said: “We want to utilise all of our resources as part of this week of action and our ANPR network is a truly invaluable asset in order to bring the fight back to the criminals.

“This operation shows our proactive capability in finding people who would look to use the roads to commit crime and I hope it sends a clear message to others out there wanting to do the same.

“Lastly, whilst we of course collect intelligence on suspicious vehicles ourselves, we would also ask the community to continue to be our eyes on the ground and report anything out of place that they see to either ourselves or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

“You can do this completely anonymously as we don’t need to know who you are, just what you know. If you think any vehicles are connected to drug dealing or any other offences, please do get in contact.”

ANPR — Automatic Number Plate Recognition — reads registrations of passing vehicles and checks them across several databases, raising the alert if a vehicle is stolen, linked to crime or doesn’t have the correct documentation.

The force’s ANPR network has more than doubled in recent years with just over 150 additional new cameras installed since 2020 with investment from Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, increasing coverage across rural areas and major towns as well as on the county borders.

Last year, Chief Constable Nick Adderley revealed the ‘ring of steel’ camera network had resulted in 340 arrests in its first eight months.

He aid: “These 150 cameras and the team which sits behind it, have proven their worth several times over.”