The extension of the GB pound 285,000 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera system has been part-financed by a GB pound 28,000 Home Office grant.
Speaking at a press demonstration this morning, Baroness Scotland said: “I am delighted that the Home Office has been able to work with partners to further crack down on crime in the Trafford area. We want to send a clear message that their criminal activity will not be tolerated.
Her visit to the Trafford Centre was part of a wider visit to the northwest where she met representatives from the region’s local authorities and crime reduction partnerships.
She continued, “Over the last five years, recorded crime in the greater Manchester area has fallen by 13 per cent – evidence of this Government’s commitment to use every technology and tool at our disposal to drive down crime, wherever it occurs.”
The Trafford Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, The Trafford Centre, COSTCO and ASDA promoted the first phase extension of the system, which already covers 12,000 car parking spaces in the Trafford Centre.
Since ‘The Ring’ was installed in 2003, reports suggest that vehicle crime has been cut by 65 per cent from an average of 40 incidents per month to less than eight. It has led to the arrest of more than 100 offenders for offences ranging from armed robbery to shoplifting and fraud. It has also helped to recover more than 100 stolen vehicles.