New number plates to curb crime

New number plates to curb crime

As of February, new vehicle registrations in the North West Province – now known as Bokone Bophirima – will include a Securitised Number Plate System that is aimed at tackling organised vehicle crime and the growing incidence of vehicle and licence plate cloning.

The Securitised Number Plate System is a methodology for the secure distribution of securitised number plates.

This system uses 2D barcode technology to record and control the manufacture, distribution and issuance of uniquely encoded number plates, to control the number plate supply chain and empower law enforcement to detect fraudulent number plates.

Every supplier in the value chain – from the material manufacturer, the blanker, distributor and embosser – therefore has accountability for each process in their domain, with audited traceability and management of the number plates in the system.

New number plates to curb crime“There are a number of challenges with the current number plate system that motivated a move to a new securitised system, which has at its core: crime prevention, public safety and empowering of law enforcement,” explains the MEC of the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management, Gaoage Molapisi.

“Right now there are over 350 variations of plates in South Africa, giving rise to growing vehicle registration fraud that leaves innocent South Africans at serious risk. Vehicle cloning is on the increase, driven by the ease with which a number plate can be obtained.”

It is intended that the number plates are replaced every five years to allow for additional enhanced security.

The changeover of number plates for existing vehicles will be set out in Schedule 5 of new regulations, commencing February 2016. The new number plates can be acquired at all registered number plate outlets in the North West Province. The vehicle registration (or licence papers) and acceptable identification as per the National Road Traffic Act will be required.

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Focus on Transport

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