§ Miss Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the status of the Home Office experiment into automatic vehicle number plate recognition; and how many automatic vehicle number plate reading devices have been obtained by each police force.
§ Mr. MayhewTrials of the experimental automatic number plate reading system were conducted by the Home Office scientific research and development branch in conjunction with the Essex and Kent police between July and October last year at the Dartford tunnel. Further development work is planned over the next three years. No decisions have been taken about the general operational use of the equipment, nor has any police force obtained such a device.