Met police target uninsured drivers

20/10/11

By Leo Stevens

Drivers of uninsured vehicles were targeted in an operation by police officers in London on Wednesday.

By 2pm, a total of 200 cars had been seized as officers used number plate recognition cameras at various locations across the capital.

The crackdown was the first of new Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe's operations to target specific crime problems.

In another incident, police in Lambeth, south London, recovered a large quantity of crack cocaine after officers detained a suspected drug dealer who resisted arrest.

The seized cars will be crushed or sold if they are not collected within two weeks, with car insurance cover needing to be purchased before the handover can occur.

Speaking prior to the operation, Mr Hogan-Howe, the former chief constable of Merseyside Police, said: "This is the first of the operations I have asked for where officers across the Met will spend a dedicated day on a regular basis targeting uninsured drivers and those believed to be connected to crime.

"We know from experience approximately 80 per cent of uninsured drivers are criminals. They're also more likely to be involved in crashes and have unsafe cars so we're taking this action to make London's roads safer."