Numberplate theft

More than 40,000 sets of number plates were stolen in 2006, a rise of almost 25%, according to police estimates

The DVLA is considering forcing all the UK's 1.3 million motorcycles to be fitted with plates featuring electronic tags, which are currently being trialled.

Numberplate theft is a modern crime but one that is a serious threat to UK motorists. It would seem that any vehicle can be "cloned" - whereby numberplates are either stolen or created and attached to a similar car- any tickets or fines will be traced back to the genuine vehicle and the burden of proof seems to stop there- an almost guilty until proven innocent scenario.

So what can be done? Well the DVLA have published several papers on this topic and recognise the inherent risks to UK motorists. It's not enough that when buying numberplates you need identification- as the theft of numberplates from vehicles prove- physical security for numberplates is required.

There are currently two ways to secure your numberplate- Secureplate is a numberplate which is fixed to the vehicle in such a way that to remove it destroys it completely, and secure numberplate fixings are attached to the numberplate in such a way that again the numberplate breaks up when it is removed.

The DVLA and the police in the longer term are considering embedding electronic chips into numberplates- this added technology will not only prevent cloning of numberplates, but also provide for congestion charge type schemes and operate in a similar manner to an Oyster card.

See also..

numberplate security