Police Chopper watches you from 2,000 feet

Police in the UK have successfully tested a 160mph helicopter that can read licence plates from as much as 2,000 feet in the air.

The Eurocopter EC135 is equipped with a camera capable of scanning 5 cars every second.

Essex Police Inspector Paul Moor told the Daily Star newspaper: "This is all about denying criminals the use of the road. Using a number plate recognition camera from the air means crooks will have nowhere to hide."

The use of Automated Plate Number Recognition (ANPR) is growing. ANPR devices photograph vehicles and then use optical character recognition (OCR) to extract license plate numbers and match them with any selected databases, such as the Police National Computer or the DVLA.

Police ANPR equipped vehicles can check a staggering 3,600 vehicles per hour. That's one every second!

The devices use infrared sensors to avoid the need for a flash and to operate in all weather conditions.

Originally intended to detect stolen vehicles and cloned cars, ANPR is increasingly being used in the UK to issue tickets. For instance, drivers who have expired insurance face a £200 fine or if they haven't paid their car tax, they face a £60 fine.

In 2004, ANPR teams stopped 180,543 vehicles and issued 51,000 tickets for offenses including failure to wear a seatbelt, use of a mobile phone while driving, and various insurance and road tax infractions.