The UK government has launched a major nationwide crackdown on drivers using illegal number plates to dodge traffic fines and commit serious violent crimes.

Funded by the Department for Transport (DfT), the initiative establishes the National Roads Policing Coordination Centre (NRPCC) to unite police forces across England through shared intelligence and data, along with improved collaboration.

This includes trialling new technology, for example specialised goggles that can detect number plates where criminals have tried to make them unreadable by cameras.

The major step up in enforcement follows an explosive cross-party inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety (APPGTS). That inquiry revealed that as many as one in 15 vehicles on UK roads were using illegal or camera-evasive plates, warning of a “gaping hole” in the UK’s security and policing infrastructure.

Illegal number plates are often used for criminal activity to evade speeding, parking or clean air zone penalties, and are frequently used for organised crime including moving illegal goods on the road network.

Vehicles that hide from number plate recognition technology are harder for police to track down when they are stolen or linked to organised crime and other serious offences.

Being able to better detect these illegal number plates will mean police are able to track down criminals quicker, and so will not only make the roads safer, but reduce crime on our streets too.

The policing blitz focuses on three dominant forms of number plate manipulation used to cheat the system. These include cloned plates, whereby vehicles carry a copied registration that legally belongs to an identical, legitimate vehicle to deflect speeding and parking fines.

‘Ghost plates’, where a transparent film is used to make the registration undetectable to cameras, are also a fast-rising problem.

Finally, the initiative will crack down on vehicles operating with no physical number plates attached at all to evade Clean Air Zone (CAZ) tolls and tracking.

Drivers caught operating a vehicle with an incorrectly displayed or non-compliant number plate currently face a fine of up to £1,000. However, the Government’s ongoing Road Safety Strategy consultations are actively exploring significantly harsher measures. These include hitting offenders with driving licence points and granting police widespread powers to instantly seize vehicles from repeat offenders.

The new centralised crackdown builds on work from the DVSA and DVLA which is working closely with police to improve how illegal number plates are identified and enforcing against them. This includes supporting investigations into businesses involved in the illegal supply of number plates and supporting the police in roadside operations.

Roads Minister Justin Madders warned motorists that the “time is up” for those using illegal plates, adding that the technology will protect honest drivers from the trafficking of illegal goods and fine evasion on UK streets.

Policing and Crime Minister Sarah Jones continued: “Illegal number plates are not a victimless offence. They are used by criminals to avoid detection, move illegal goods and stay one step ahead of law enforcement.

“By bringing forces together and making better use of technology and intelligence, this new team will help police track down offenders faster and disrupt organised crime groups that rely on our road network.”