Roadside cameras suffer from large gaps in coverage, police admit

Automatic number plate recognition cameras stay secret after freedom of information tribunal told of patchy picture

SA Mathieson and Rob Evans

Police chiefs have admitted there are flaws in a „big brother“ surveillance system that enables them to track and store the daily journeys of millions of motorists.

The police chief who co-ordinates the growing network of more than 5,000 roadside cameras, which records the whereabouts of 16m vehicles, said the network was patchy and left“large gaps in coverage in various parts of the country“.

Police made the admissions as they won a freedom of information tribunal to keep secret the locations of the the cameras, arguing that disclosure would allow criminals to evade detection. (more on guardian.co.uk)