Automatic Number Plate Recognition or ANPR cameras are used throughout the UK by law enforcement agencies, such as the police, private companies, local authorities the DVSA and DVLA. ANPR cameras read vehicle registration plates and this data is used to work out everything from the amount of time a vehicle has spent in a car park, whether it has tax and insurance to where the vehicle is registered to if it is involved in an incident.
How do ANPR cameras work?
An ANPR camera takes a snapshot of a vehicles registration plate which is translates into machine-encoded text. This information is then crossed checked with a database, I.e. the DVLA data base. This can then tell the user specific information in relation to the vehicle, for instance if the vehicle has tax, insurance or an MOT, what speed it is travelling at, if the vehicle has been stolen and who the registered owner is (depending on the data based used for cross checking).
So does your business need ANPR cameras?
If you are concerned about deterring and detecting criminal activity in and around the site of your business, you‘ll likely already have standard CCTV cameras in operation. An ANPR camera can boost your security as well as give you some useful data for your business.
The benefit of adding ANPR cameras includes:
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Monitoring the number of visitors and peak visiting times
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Monitoring entry and exit times of customers
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Monitoring vehicle movements, both company and customer
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Providing high quality images which can be given to the police in the event of an incident at your business to aid with their investigations
If you are planning to install CCTV or ANPR cameras at your business remember to check you are meeting the GDPR requirements for data protection. You can find a useful guide here.
At Corona IT Solutions Ltd, we install and configure CCTV and ANPR cameras to suit the specific needs of the business, ensuring you have the right camera for the job. If you are interested in installing CCTV or ANPR cameras in your home or business please get in touch and speak to one of our friendly team Carlisle 01228 210 380 / Dumfries 01387 440 095.
