ALL THINGS LICENSING
GHOST PLATES, GROOMING GANGS, DIGITAL DRIVING LICENCES & A NEW CHIEF EXEC AT IoL
Article by Mike Smith, Senior Specialist for Licensing and Community Safety at Guildford Borough Council and Vice-Chair of the Institute of Licensing South East Region.
Please note that this article represents my own views which are not presented as the views of the Institute of Licensing or Guildford BC.
Ghost plates
Starting with a topical issue in Guildford and across Surrey, although unlikely to be confined to our patch, we have received a number of reports from police colleagues about licensed vehicles having ‘stealth’ or ‘ghost’ number plates fitted.
Stealth plates, also known as ‘ghost plates’, employ a special reflective coating in order to avoid detection by ANPR cameras. These plates do not conform to legislation and are illegal. Furthermore, vehicle licence conditions also require that no modifications be made to vehicles without the permission of the council.
Surrey Police, and other forces, have new equipment which allows easy identification of these plates. Police in Surrey, and doubtless in other force areas, will be reporting any vehicle found fitted with plates which do not conform to
requirements of licensing
authorities, where the driver and/or proprietor risk further licensing sanction in addition to endorsement issued by the police.
any
Section 59 (1) Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 which lead into The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 details the requirements as to size, shape, character and arrangement of registration marks, numbers and letters.
Section 11(1) states: No reflex-reflecting material may be applied to any part of a registration plate and the plate must not be treated in such a way that the characters of the registration mark become, or are caused to act as, retroreflective characters.
Section 11(2) states: A registration plate must not be treated in any other way which renders the characters
62
of the registration mark less easily distinguishable to the eye or which would prevent or impair the making of a true photographic image of the plate through the medium of camera and film or any other device.
At the end of last year, a number of dedicated operations in Surrey took place with failure rates of between 30 to 48% for every licensed vehicle stopped. This means that between one in three to one in two licensed vehicles had number plates which are not permitted.
Not only are these plates illegal, they will be contrary to licence conditions. Furthermore, any driver or proprietor who has fitted ghost plates will likely have done so dishonestly to try and evade ANPR cameras which can only raise serious questions about their suitability to continue to hold a licence.
Consequently, if your vehicle has these plates fitted it will likely only be a matter of time until you are caught and the sanction you face will likely outweigh any benefit you may have derived from an illegal plate.
Next steps to tackle CSE
Following a number of media stories about grooming gangs and public enquiries, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper gave an update in late January on the actions the government will take to protect young people from sexual abuse and grooming gangs.
The Home Secretary stopped short of launching a statutory national inquiry, as called for by the Conservatives and some Labour MPs, but this marks a clear shift in the government’s position.
She said lawyer Tom Crowther, who led an inquiry in Telford, would help Oldham and four other pilot areas yet to be named, develop their own reviews.
She said this would begin by working with Oldham Council and up to four other pilot areas, with £5m of an overall £10m package being put up to “get work off the ground”.
She also announced a “rapid” three-month national audit headed by veteran government troubleshooter Baroness Louise Casey to examine the demographics of the gangs and their victims, as well as “cultural drivers” behind the offending.
MARCH 2025 PHTM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
