Troublemakers whose faces don’t fit at this month’s V Festival will be targeted with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).
Facial recognition equipment will be used for the first time to combat offenders at the festival at Weston Park, on the Shropshire-Staffordshire border, on August 20 and 21. An intelligence database of known offenders’ photos will be linked to CCTV cameras which will scan the site and return facial matches to officers. The new system will add to methods successfully used at previous V Festivals including CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).
Festival licence
An occasional licence has been granted to cover the whole of the V Festival at Weston Park from August 20 to 21. The licensed area, which will include the whole V Festival site, has been agreed by police, licensees and magistrates. The licence means that anyone committing acts of violence or disorder could be ejected from the site – as well as facing criminal charges.
What they say
Chief Insp Jon Drake, one of the event commanders, said: “This year’s Staffordshire V Festival will be the biggest yet with over 70,000 people set to attend. Violence of any kind will not be tolerated and people who get involved in disorder – or any type of crime – can expect to be ejected from the site. A small minority of offenders will not be allowed to spoil the weekend for the tens of thousands of law-abiding music fans. There will be an increase in CCTV coverage this year and the use of facial recognition and ANPR technology will further boost our efforts to tackle crime and disorder. The technology we are using underlines our commitment to ensuring the festival’s reputation for safety continues.”
Letters sent
Letters will be sent to over 250 criminals and known offenders warning them to stay away. As well as a uniformed police presence, undercover officers will also be deployed. Police add that they have been working for several months with the festival organisers in planning policing, onsite and offsite.
Andy Redhead, V Festival Organiser, said: “The safety of V Festival fans is of utmost importance to us. We therefore fully support the efforts of Staffordshire Police to ensure that the festival remains a trouble-free zone, for the enjoyment of those that come to see some quality performances and soak up on the great atmosphere that V is well known for.” Anyone who witnesses violence at the festival should ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
For information on crime prevention, safety and travel visit the Staffordshire Police V Festival microsite.
