Plans have been revealed to transfer the use the Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras that were intended to be used to enforce Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to help prevent and tackle crime, keep communities safe and support victims.
A six-week consultation has been launched today to seek views on the move
The cameras were installed in 2022 for the planned Clean Air Zone, which would have charged drivers of high-polluting vehicles but the plans were put on hold and then abandoned in the face of opposition
GMP can already access information and number plate images from the cameras but need to request permission from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which takes time and causes delays.
ANPR data can identify vehicles associated with crime and terrorism and can dramatically speed up investigations. Between January 2023 and April 2025, information from ANPR cameras have supported a range of police investigations, including 63 major and serious crimes, including murder, fatal road collisions, robbery, burglary and firearms offences and has helped to find vulnerable and missing people.
Transferring ownership to GMP would allow camera data to go straight into local police systems, so that officers can act more quickly in real-time to help keep communities safe and solve serious crimes.
But GMP’s current ANPR infrastructure is small compared to other similar metropolitan police forces in England. The move would bring their coverage up to a similar level of comparable police forces and make a real difference to community safety.
ANPR cameras are not speed enforcement cameras and will not be used for this purpose. They do not use biometric or facial recognition technology. Instead, as a vehicle passes an ANPR camera, the registration number is read and instantly checked against a national database records of vehicles of interest.
It’s proposed that anonymised data from the cameras can still be used to monitor how well the investment-led (non-charging) Clean Air Plan is performing until Greater Manchester meets legal limits for nitrogen dioxide emissions in 2026.
Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, Kate Green, said:
“These cameras have already provided crucial evidence to solve serious crimes in Greater Manchester, but the current process creates delays in investigations where time is of the essence. Now the charging Clean Air Zone isn’t going ahead, our plan is to provide value for money by putting this existing infrastructure to good use tackle criminal behaviour and keep our communities safe.
“Bringing them permanently into the existing GMP network will bring our ANPR coverage up to a level that’s comparable with other city regions, and provide the police with real-time access to number plate data.
“The cameras will still have a secondary role to play in making sure the investment-led Clean Air Plan is on track, as well as support transport planning. But we want to hear what residents think of the change in the main use and ownership of the cameras.”
