§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what new action the Metropolitan police will take in respect of cloned number plates on vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [101214]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThe introduction of congestion charging in the centre of London provides additional opportunities to identify vehicles with cloned number plates and for the Metropolitan police to take action against them. The Metropolitan police are currently considering how they can get the best crime reduction return from the investment of police resources in this work. But existing procedures already provide for cloned registration numbers to be entered on the Police National Computer and on the databases used by police Automatic Number Plate Reader operations. This increases the likelihood of cloned vehicles coming to police attention and appropriate action being taken.