The initiative will see police forces across England work more closely through a new roads policing coordination system, with data sharing and specialist equipment used to improve enforcement against vehicles that cannot be easily identified.
The move forms part of the government’s first Road Safety Strategy in more than a decade, which includes measures aimed at reducing deaths and serious injuries on Great Britain’s roads. According to the Department for Transport (DfT), the strategy sets a target of reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on roads by 65% by 2035, based on a 2022–2024 baseline.
New Technology to Target Vehicles Hiding Their Number Plates
The National Roads Policing Coordination Centre (NRPCC) will bring together police forces from around England to share intelligence, improve cooperation and make greater use of available data.
One of the technologies being trialled involves specialised goggles that can detect number plates where criminals have attempted to make them unreadable to cameras. These vehicles can be harder for police to locate when they have been stolen or are connected to serious offences. The Department for Transport said improving detection of illegal number plates will help police identify vehicles more quickly and support efforts to reduce crime and improve road safety.
Illegal number plates can take several forms. These include cloned plates, where a vehicle uses a registration belonging to another legitimate vehicle, as well as “ghost plates”, where transparent film is used to prevent cameras from reading the registration. Vehicles being driven without any number plate are also included within the crackdown.
According to the Department for Transport’s Road Safety Strategy, the government will consult on measures to address illegal number plates, including ghost number plates, as part of wider enforcement reforms. The work will build on existing cooperation between the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and police forces. This includes investigations into businesses involved in supplying illegal number plates and support for roadside enforcement operations.
Wider Road Safety Strategy Focuses on Enforcement and Data
The number plate measures are part of a broader government approach to road safety, which places greater emphasis on technology, data and enforcement. The Road Safety Strategy highlights the role of new systems in improving policing and preventing collisions. It includes plans for a new Roads Policing Innovation Programme and explores ways to use data more effectively across transport agencies.
According to the Department for Transport, around 1,602 people were killed on Great Britain’s roads in 2024, while 27,865 people were seriously injured. The strategy states that human driver error contributes to approximately nine in ten collisions. The government’s wider plans include stronger action against a range of offences, including drink driving, driving without insurance, failing to report collisions and using vehicles without a valid MOT.
The strategy also sets out plans to make greater use of vehicle technology and connected data. These measures include exploring data-sharing initiatives and expanding the role of advanced driver assistance systems, which can help reduce the risk of collisions. The illegal number plate crackdown is expected to operate alongside these wider measures, with the aim of improving the ability of authorities to identify vehicles involved in unlawful activity.
