Smart security cameras that scan licence plates help catch a very limited number of criminals, RTL Nieuws reports.

The cameras pass the information they capture on to the police but the police then hardly act on the information received, the television news channel says quoting research carried out at the request of the security and justice ministry.

There are some 200 smart cameras across the country, most of them in the region around the city of Rotterdam. One of the people involved in the research said they were of little use. The cameras do help, he said, to trace drivers who still owe fines or taxes or lack a driver’s licence.

(cl)

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide