Automatic license plate recognition shows great results for Danish Police
Danish Police Department uses AutoVu™ to manage 70 mobile cameras and 48 permanent cameras around the country.
The company
The Danish Police is the national police force for Denmark, serving and protecting a population of almost six million people. Denmark has 14 police districts and the Danish National Police is the highest authority within the Danish Police. Their goal is to maintain Denmark as a safe and secure society, ensure safety and security in disadvantaged areas, ensure a decrease in citizen-centred crime. Their aim is to proactively work with the community to react quickly and effectively to situations when needed.
The challenge
Security Center AutoVu automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) has been successfully used by police forces in other jurisdictions to find stolen vehicles and persons of interest in investigations. However, using this technology for law enforcement comes with several challenges. The ALPR system must be able to read plates from all countries of interest to the region. It also must comply with regulations that protect privacy and personal data. But the biggest challenge of all is perception: the public must be convinced that the cameras are there to fight crime, not to monitor drivers.
The solution
Rely on a trusted solution
In 2014, Danish police selected the Security Center AutoVu ALPR solution, which had been successfully used for law enforcement in regions around the world.
Ensure regulatory compliance
Internal legal advisors and other experts were involved in vendor selection from the beginning to ensure the solution would comply with statutory personal data protection requirements.
Get a reliable reading rate
The system has a 98 percent accurate reading rate, allowing law enforcement to trust its reliability in finding wanted vehicles.
Build trust within your community
Police use ALPR to fight crime, not to monitor drivers in general. The Danish community was happy to know that data that is unrelated to investigations is automatically deleted on a regular basis to preserve individuals’ privacy.
“We’ve had many success stories from using this solution. The system has a 98 percent reading rate, so there are very few cars that cannot be caught with the system.”
Morten Vasegaard Larsen, Senior Advisor Business Owner at Danish Police Force
Results
Initially, 48 cars and 24 stationary posts were equipped with cameras across the country. The ALPR solution achieved such great results that it was decided to add another 25 mobile cameras and 16 stationary cameras in Copenhagen and the rest of Zealand. The project was also awarded the Implementation Prize at the Digitalization Awards Ceremony in 2018.
“When it was originally decided that we would install the ALPR solution in Danish police cars, the project was met with a fair amount of skepticism from the general population. Now, we find that the public has become more positive. I think we’ve managed to communicate the idea that ALPR is there to fight crime,” said Morten Vasegaard Larsen, Senior Advisor Business Owner at the Danish Police.