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Press release

Devon and Cornwall Constabulary drives crime convictions with intelligent vehicle monitoring

Network from ntl:Telewest Business to aid detection of criminals on the roads in line with the Government’s Spectrum initiative
Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) contributes to crime reduction and public reassurance

30 November, 2006. Devon and Cornwall Constabulary will deploy IPVPN technology from ntl:Telewest Business to increase crime conviction rates in the region. The Constabulary will benefit from direct access to ANPR images from five monitoring locations across the region from the comfort of their operations room.

As part of Government’s Laser programme, the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary has deployed ANPR to monitor criminal offences and effectively deny criminals the use of the roads. The intercept team uses cars equipped with on-board cameras that read number plates and feed them through to computers to check them against a number of databases.

The captured number plates are compared in a matter of seconds against 15 million registrations listed on the Police National Computer, which includes information on stolen vehicles. The number plates are also checked against the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) computer, which contains information on all unregistered UK vehicles and those without insurance and car tax vehicles. As a result, the police checks and arrests can be performed as quickly as possible.

To extend the geographic reach and enable 24/7 ANPR monitoring, the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary has worked with ntl:Telewest Business to deploy IPVPN links connecting the fixed camera sites back to the police computer systems.

“While ANPR police units patrolling the main strategic road network help to tackle criminal offences on the road, the extra visibility provided by widely deployed fixed cameras will enable us to reduce crime and increase public reassurance in our region,” said Inspector Andrew Hamilton, head of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary’s ANPR unit. “The IPVPN network from ntl:Telewest Business will transform the way our team works by enabling us to monitor vehicles 24 hours a day, from our operations centre and deploy near-by police car as quickly as possible.”

“The response speed is paramount as it ensures the immediate arrests of suspect and plays a vital role in promoting public reassurance,” he concluded.

Positioned on major routes within Devon and Cornwall each ANPR camera is capable of reading more than 3,000 vehicle number plates per hour. All the strategically deployed cameras are infrared so ANPR can be performed at any time of day or night. Using ntl:Telewest Business’ IPVPN, images are fed directly to the police computer systems.

“By March 2008, the ANPR units Nationally are expected to perform 50 million reads every day. The IP networks will play a pivotal role in ensuring that this data is distributed as quickly and securely as possible across the UK’s ANPR centres,” said Christopher Small, Director of Public Sector at ntl:Telewest Business. “We are thrilled to be working with the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary to help them deliver against the targets and realise the full potential of ANPR technology to reduce crime.”

About ntl:Telewest Business

ntl:Telewest Business is a leading provider of communications to businesses, public sector organisations and service providers in the UK. It delivers a complete portfolio of voice, data and internet solutions nationwide.

ntl:Telewest Business sales and support teams are located across the UK, in close proximity to our customers, as part of a commitment to deliver superior customer service.

ntl:Telewest Business delivers services over the Group’s £13bn investment in its state-of-the-art infrastructure giving business customers access to the largest alternative network in the UK.

ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide critical communications to high profile customers including: Heathrow's Terminal 5, Birmingham City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council.

ntl: Telewest Business is part of NTL Incorporated (NASDAQ: NTLI - trading under the temporary ticker symbol NTLID until 31 March 2006). ntl Inc. offers a range of communications and entertainment services to more than five million residential customers.

For further information go to www.ntltelewestbusiness.co.uk