ANPR "ring of steel" watches over Manchester

Manchester is now protected by a "ring of steel" - a network of surveillance cameras that will log almost every car entering the city centre.

The network of 15 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras cover main approaches to the metropolitan area.

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Every car is screened against a network of police and government databases, with the system able to instantly trigger alerts about everything from suspected terrorists and stolen vehicles, to banned drivers and tax dodgers.

The plate number, car colour and entry time of an estimated 600,000 cars per day are being kept by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) for five years.

This addition to the existing Manchester Metronet system of about 100 cameras is one of the first "rings of steel" outside London.

Mobile ANPR cameras used in Manchester over the past two years have already resulted in police seizing more than 30,000 cars flagged as illegal by the system.

Assistant chief constable Dave Thompson said the new fixed camera sites "will bring enormous benefits to the police and aid us in protecting our communities".

In a statement Mike George, ANPR project manager for GMP, said: "GMP has historically invested in vehicle-based ANPR systems which have proven effective as a mobile solution."

A GMP spokesman said the stored data would be used to provide criminal intelligence and evidence in police investigations.

Each ANPR camera costs about £5,000 and it costs about £1,000 per year to keep the Metronet CCTV system running.

Because Metronet is a wireless IP CCTV network it is cheaper for GMP to move existing ANPR cameras and to introduce new ones, with 10 more expected to be fitted over the next year.

The databases that GMP run checks against include the Police National Computer, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA's) system, as well as other local police logs.

A trial of an ANPR-linked database checking system in 2004 ran into trouble because information in the DVLA's databases was so unreliable but the agency claims accuracy has greatly increased since then.

London's ring of steel was introduced in the early 1990s following a bombing campaign by the IRA.