Operation Jaguar continues to reap rewards of ANPR network

Officers from Northamptonshire Police continue to utilise the ANPR network to help deny criminals the use of the county’s roads.

In the latest operation, officers used the ANPR technology to intercept vehicles suspected of being involved in one of the Force’s four matters of priorities - drugs harm, serious violence, serious and organised crime, and VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls).

ANPR - Automatic Number Plate Recognition - reads the registration of passing vehicles and checks them across several databases, raising the alert if a vehicle is stolen, linked to crime/intelligence or doesn’t have the correct documentation.

A total of 127 vehicles were stopped during the three days of action – codenamed Operation Jaguar II – 48 of which were seized for a range of offences including 39 for having no valid insurance and a further 17 vehicles were subject to roadside searches.

In addition to this, officers issued 100 fixed penalty notices as well as arresting 17 vehicle occupants on suspicion of a variety of offences, including domestic-related stalking, theft, drug offences, criminal damage, recall to prison, driving whilst disqualified and breach of a court order.

Notably this included a vehicle which was stopped on the A14 on May 10, and the recovery of a large quantity of Class A drugs. Two Corby men - aged 33 and 28 – were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply and released under investigation.

Whilst on May 17, officers arrested a 29-year-old man wanted on recall to prison following a breach of his licence conditions. He is now serving the remainder of a sentence he received for robbery.

Then on May 23, following an ANPR activation of a vehicle linked to a man who was wanted for a domestic-related stalking, officers arrested a 62-year-old man in connection with this incident.

Head of Proactive Crime and Intelligence, Superintendent Lee McBride, said: “We gather intelligence and use information daily to proactively help officers fight crime and protect some of the most vulnerable members of our communities.

“However, under the umbrella of Operation Jaguar, we are able to utilise the ANPR technology to deny criminals who use our road network to not only commit crime but to evade capture.

“This operation was executed flawlessly by officers from various teams, supported by the Force’s ANPR Intelligence Desk, and I am really pleased that this operation continues to reap the rewards.

“These results once again demonstrate the danger ANPR poses to those who look to use our roads illegally or to commit their crimes as we continue to take the fight back to the criminals.

“Our message is simple – if you want to use our roads to commit crime, it won’t be long before you see blue lights in your rear-view mirror, and you’ve booked a non-negotiable trip to our custody suite.”

The Force’s ANPR network has more than doubled in recent years with just over 150 additional new cameras installed since 2020, increasing coverage across rural areas and major towns as well as on the county borders.

Officers would like to utilise this resource as much as possible by asking members of the public to get in touch with details of suspicious vehicles that they feel officers need to look out for.

Supt McBride added: “Whilst we of course collect intelligence ourselves, we would also ask the community to be our eyes on the ground and report anything out of place that they see to either ourselves or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

“You can do this completely anonymously as we don’t need to know who you are, just what you know. If you think any vehicles are connected to drug dealing, anti-social behaviour or any other offences, please do get in contact.”