Technology is a double edged sword and there will always be an arms race between law enforcement and the criminals. However, when law enforcement becomes all pervasive and is used to criminals ordinary people, that rebellion spills over to otherwise law abiding citizens, which is what is happening here.
Doctored number plates bought online for as little as £10 are being used to trick enforcement cameras and avoid Ulez charges.
An expert has warned there are about a million ‘misreads’ a day because of tampered plates.
Some are tinted which means some cameras can’t read the plate and identify the driver, despite it looking normal to the naked eye.
Others implement subversive tactics such as using the wrong font or spacing.
Some are stolen, counterfeit or have black tape over them.
Automatic number plate recognition is used to regulate traffic laws, insurance, parking and congestion charges.
We are monitored throughout our journeys. CCTV and ANPR has become ubiquitous. Gone are the days when we could travel in anonymity, now the state tracks and monitors our movements. Sure, I get the terrorism argument, but this argument is used for every turn of the rachet on our liberties. This is no different. Frankly, I’d rather the police’s work was a little harder if it gave us back some of that anonymity. So, while I am not advocating that people follow these examples, I’m not exactly crying over it, either. If they get away with it, well, good for them.
It is also used in low traffic neighbourhoods and to circumvent charges for clean air regulations like Ulez.
Fine by me. Any weapon used against this insidious scheme is a score for the good guys.
People vote with their feet, or in this case, wheels.
Back when it was just the congestion charge the money was being harvested in some very underhand ways. I had to make a trip for work to an exhibition centre close to the centre of London. It was possible to get there without crossing into the zone but, trying to navigate and interpret the signage as a non local I wasn’t sure whether I had incurred the charge or not. I rang the works secretary who dealt with it for me. The catch is, they won’t tell you whether you owe the charge or not but they also put the charge up if you don’t pay it the same day. So you have to pay up even if you didn’t enter the zone, just in case you did. Basically a criminal enterprise. If it had been up to me I would never do any business near the place and, if everyone did the same, the zone would have turned into a derelict wasteland.
I can’t condone such behaviour.
I also don’t want to pay these charges. So I avoid them. By not going into these areas.
Cue the government whining about shops closing and lack of business/ tax income.
Lol.
I’ll just buy what I need from Amazon and other companies with aggressive tax avoidance policies.
Just starve the beast.
Condone, maybe. If a law is immoral, then breaking it is justified. Do I do it? No. I do as you do. But I won’t condemn those who take more drastic action – possibly because unlike you or I, they have no option but to travel into those areas. Consequently, I’m cool with those who do it. It is, after all, a genuine victimless crime. See also, the Blade Runners. I’m fine with them, too.
The principle of breaking ‘immoral’ laws is dodgy – the judgement of what is immoral is subjective, hence ambiguous.
In a democracy we have the collective power to change laws which we, in consensus, agree to change. If everyone who finds a law inappropriate contacts their MPs and commits never to vote for them again unless it is changed, it may indeed be changed quite swiftly.
We have the power to change things without resort to infringement, although it does take longer, requires more collective effort and usually a ‘champion’ to promote it. For reference, see Brexit.
Didn’t have an option to vote and change COVID restrictions, you either complied or resisted.
We have an option on Thursday to vote for those who we believe would never impose such restrictions again, and against those who supported the farce. That’s democracy.
@Mudplugger “The principle of breaking ‘immoral’ laws is dodgy…”
Agreed. This is the argument used by Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion et al. Who decides what is immoral?
Good question. While we may have differing views of what laws are immoral, the real difference between these two groups is how they choose to engage in civil disobedience. The Blade Runners are targeting the apparatus of the state, causing no inconvenience to their fellow citizens. JSO is deliberately attacking and harming ordinary people and causing no inconvenience to the state. That, to me, is a significant difference and it is why I’ll support the one and condemn the other.
It’s a difficult question.
At what point does disobedience of the law become moral? Or immoral?
Some laws are obviously wrong, but then there’s also the manner of how it is being broken. Even in this case, in the quotes you mention there are several ways.
Having a transparent coating on the number plate that stops the camera working? Fair enough. (Still not advocating for law breaking)
Having wrong number plates? No. Because what if they hit a pedestrian and drive off? That’s going to make them hard to find. There’s a reason we have identification plates on cars. It’s because they’re basically hazardous machinery and people need to be accountable.
That said, I can understand the frustration of people who suddenly find themselves subjected to these things who may not be able to move or change behaviours easily and think more direct action is their only recourse.
Broadly agree. The ‘Blade Runners’ are committing criminal damage by physically destroying cameras, we are all victims because we pay for those.
If however they merely put a black bin-liner over them, the same effect is achieved without the ‘crime’ or victim-cost.
I agree on the matter of false/cloned plates. However, I’m fine with anything that merely confounds ANPR or ULEZ cameras. I am fine with criminal damage of ULEZ cameras even if it is the taxpayer picking up the cost. Bin bags are an inconvenience to the state, but having to keep replacing them sends a much stronger message.