Two firsts for QRO Solutions at this year’s National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) ANPR Annual Conference and Exhibition. Held this year at NPIA‘s facility at Ryton, early in June, QRO was not only one of this year’s sponsors of the event but the team took the opportunity to demonstrate how BlackBerry handheld terminals can be integrated into an ANPR strategy.

The demonstration put together by the QRO team illustrated how a BlackBerry handheld terminal could be used to receive ANPR alerts and display the position of each alert on a map. Designed to show a realistic scenario, the demonstration sent vehicle registration numbers via a GPRS link to be matched with a number of hotlists on a server located at the QRO offices. When a match was found an alert message was fired across to a BlackBerry server, also located at QRO’s offices, which relayed the message to a BlackBerry device on the exhibition stand.

In practice the alert messages from the matched hotlist would only be sent if the Officer owning the BlackBerry was authorised to receive them. The alert message, if available from the reading site, could contain all the information required by NAAS 4 plus the vehicle overview.

Also demonstrated was the additional function of a ‘map’ button included in each alert message. The button switched the BlackBerry to a mapping screen on which the position of the reading site was plotted. The function allows for the first time ANPR NAAS 4 Alerts to be viewed independently of an ANPR application.

Vic Way, QRO Managing Director, told us that the QRO team was delighted with the interest shown in the functionality being demonstrated for the first time. Trevor  Longshaw, ANPR co-ordinator for Cheshire Constabulary and Project Manager for a northwest ANPR development, was particularly enthusiastic as he had received requests for the type of ANPR system expansion being demonstrated from officers in his own force.

The additional flexibility offered by the system to officers, particularly those who wish to have the choice of responding quickly to ANPR hits, is significant. QRO are hoping to trial the system with one of its existing customer’s in the near future.

For more information about integration of BlackBerry terminals in ANPR solutions please call Vic Way on +44 (0)1609 780 941.