Hooning Gold Coast: Council to roll out licence plate cameras across city after 250,000 phographed

More than 250,000 Gold Coast cars have been photographed by the council’s anti-hooning cameras in just six months, with new technology set to be rolled out across the city to crack down on bad drivers.

MORE than 250,000 Gold Coast cars have been photographed by the council’s anti-hooning cameras in just six months.

The trailer-mounted mobile camera, which has six high-resolution cameras, has been rolled out at nine locations across the city since August 2021 as part of a council-led bid to clamp down on hooning.

Mayor Tom Tate said the data had been handed over to police.

“Of course, not every one of those vehicles is being driven in an erratic fashion but this new anti-hoon trailer is collating video and data including number plates,” he said.

“Evidence is vital to the Queensland Police Service as they work tirelessly to stamp out hooning.

“Having data, including high-quality CCTV imagery, greatly assists police to know which vehicles may be in a certain area at a certain time.

“Unfortunately, our city has repeat offenders when it comes to hooning and dangerous driving. It seems some motorists just aren’t getting the message.’’

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Picture: Jerad Williams

Around 45 per cent of all new CCTV requests made to council since early 2020 were related to hooning.

The camera trailer is equipped with licence plate recognition (LPR) technology which works even at night.in low-light settings.

Council is currently upgrading its own fixed-camera network across the city to include this technology.

Cr Tate said a report would be brought to council in the first quarter of 2022 with a view to possibly extending the six-month trial.

“We have more than 700 cameras city-wide and we make no apologies about ensuring law-abiding residents are better protected through this technology,’’ he said.

“This anti-hoon trailer is a $20,000 investment in our fleet and allows us to be more agile, and responsive, while partnering with police.’’

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