The State police will soon install surveillance-camera-linked automatic number plate recognition systems (ANPR) at all important entry and exit points of the capital city.
It will primarily help the police track and intercept stolen vehicles and those involved in various crimes.
Officials say the systems will be installed initially at the Kazhakuttam, Kesavadasapuram, Pappanamcode, and Kovalam junctions in June.
The ANPR is integrated with highly sensitive and night-vision-enabled cameras that have the ability to “read and capture” the rear registration number plates of vehicles moving at high speeds (up to 200 km an hour). The cameras, equipped with flash lights and infrared sensors, will be mounted on overhead gantries that cover the road in a single span.
The system has a built-in “optical character recognition” software that automatically enhances the alphanumeric images of licence plates. The enhanced image will be transmitted through a secure high-bandwidth fibre optic connection to a computer at the city police control room or the police headquarters where it will be stored for a specific period.
Control room officials can find out the registration particulars of the vehicle, including ownership and make, if required, by matching the captured number with those in the computerised database of the Motor Vehicles Departments of various States.
The police can also input the registration number of vehicles involved in crimes into the ANPR system, which will then automatically send an alert to the control room if its cameras detect the automobile.
Fancy number plates
In a bid to make the system effective, the police will, in the coming days, impose fines on vehicles bearing fancy registration plates that do not conform to the standards set by the State Motor Vehicles Department.
The police have also suggested that the State speed up the implementation of the proposed high-security “intelligent” number plate scheme, (laser imprinted tamper-proof hologram registration stickers to be pasted on the front and rear windshields of automobiles) that “mass surveillance” electronic sensors integrated with the ANPR systems can easily read.
The ANPR system, once integrated with the 199 police surveillance cameras in the city, will also help the police accurately assess patterns of traffic flow, vehicle density, and road space usage.
According to the police, more than 20,000 passenger vehicles and 4,000 cargo trucks enter or leave the district through the Amaravila border check-post at Parassala alone.
They say the ANPR system will also help them track stolen vehicles and also motorbikes used by chain-snatchers if they attempt to exit the city through its border check-points after committing a crime.
The system can also be configured to send alerts to the police if it detects movements of vehicles using a regular set of fake number plates, provided the numbers are inputted into the system by law enforcers in advance. S.P. Gopakumar, Project Manager of Keltron Communications Wing, is implementing the project.
