Tag: police

Following up from my ULEZ fine – The computer is wrong!

Honda Silverwing in front of a Mountain in Ireland
This scooter hasn’t passed through London in a decade and I can prove it!

I have a follow up to the post about cloning of my scooter licence/number plate.

Ian Forrester | @cubicgarden

Great, just got a ULEZ fine for a Honda car with a cloned number plate in London!

However

I drive a scooter not a car
I can't legally drive a car
I live 200miles away in Manchester
Haven't ridden in London for over 15 years
I was mid air in a plane across the alps when it happened

My scooter was locked up and hasn't moved according to the many locks, multiple trackers and CCTV's in the garage.

But I need prove it wasn't me?
According to…

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3743
wilsons.co.uk/news/what-to-do-

March 11, 2026, 3:46 pm 2 boosts 8 favorites

Its been pretty hellish, with everything falling back to the analogue hole aka writing letters by hand to prove who I am with the DVLA. The MET police called me and after verifying they who they said they were, we had a long conversation.

Ultimately they identified the licence/number plate was incorrectly found using TFL’s (Transport for London) APNR (automatic plate number recognition system). Aka the computer vision was wrong! One character was off and that was enough for me to get the fine and go down the route of trying to prove my innocence. So I had to write to DVLA again, saying my number plate was not cloned but there had been a APNR mess up (I use my words carefully).

With my crime reference in place I wrote again.

The automated number plate camera used to capture the Honda Civic CAR has the wrong number plate. The number plate is actually a *****Y* which leads to a Green Honda Civic CAR. The number plate *****V* is my Honda Silverwing 600 cc SCOOTER/MOTORBIKE which has not been ridden in London for over 12 years and was locked in a garage under multiple CCTV’s during the date and time in question. I personally was on holiday and have many Manchester airport cameras  and passport checks to prove I was not driving either vehicles. I have included pictures of my SCOOTER with the number plate in question. You can even see its the wrong size and SCOOTER don’t have front number plates! When I received this PCN, I thought my number plate was cloned as the SCOOTER has not moved or unlocked while I was on holiday. So I raised it with the DVLA and Police . I personally only have a motorcycle licence and can not legally drive a car or have ever owned a car. I urge you to use common sense and look up a Blue Honda Silvering 600 and see its not even a CAR. Let alone a Honda Civic CAR in Green. I have added the Honda Civic registrations in a simple look up you could.should have done. DVLA are also aware of this issue, alongside the GM & MET police services. This has been very stressful and honestly I’m upset about the amount of time I have had to use to prove my innocence over an automated camera.

So now I wait…

I assume TFL will send a letter saying sorry but this has taken a lot of time and effort on my part. What a waste of public resources too.

This is clearly a screw up and my suspicion of my number plate being cloned was right as there was no other way; although that’s what I thought thinking the camera was correct. Heck I fell for the trust the computer till the conversation with the police.

How many others have gone through this? Those automated number plate cameras are everywhere and honestly it chimes with all the problems with automation, surveillance and no transparency. Heck something simple like a V & Y can cause injustice.

A reminder to support the Open Rights Group and Big Brother Watch in the UK.

Updated 30th March 2026

The letter I got back from TFL

Its finally over, they admit there was a administrative error and they had charged the wrong vehicle. This for me is a clear case of the computer says no; as mentioned above a worrisome trend of automated surveillance.  The wording peed me off but what did I expect?

Anyway its done now, I can ride my bike without worrying about being pulled over for some stupid automated computer mistake.

Dealing with a cloned motorcycle licence plate

Silvering outside Ibis hotel
Would this beautiful scooter break the ULEZ rules?

Today I received a ULEZ fine from Transport for London?

Somehow I had broken the rules of the ultra low emission zone. On the day when I was flying over the alps in Europe on a holiday. My scooter hasn’t been stolen as I have used it since, plus I have a ton of thick chains and trackers on it (although we already know that never stops some people, just slows them down).

My scooter registration number (number plate) had been cloned and I needed to do something about it straight away, or this could really have negative effects.

Ian Forrester | @cubicgarden

Great, just got a ULEZ fine for a Honda car with a cloned number plate in London!

However

I drive a scooter not a car
I can't legally drive a car
I live 200miles away in Manchester
Haven't ridden in London for over 15 years
I was mid air in a plane across the alps when it happened

My scooter was locked up and hasn't moved according to the many locks, multiple trackers and CCTV's in the garage.

But I need prove it wasn't me?
According to…

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3743
wilsons.co.uk/news/what-to-do-

March 11, 2026, 3:46 pm 3 boosts 8 favorites

I thought it would be pretty straight forward but I realised reading around, its much more complex!

Contacting the DVLA and the police is harder than it should have been. None of them have clear paths for cloned number plates (I called the DVLA and maybe should have called the police too). Then I got a sense my insurance and all those many years of no-claims are at risk. But my insurance won’t do anything till I have a crime reference from the police.

The criminals (which they are) could be running up large amount of fines or even committing all types of other things (like robbery or who knows what) under my licence number. Most people don’t even know till the first fine comes in, which in my case is 11 days later.

After reporting it to the police, I had a look through the different number plate look up sites and found most were correct. However a couple gave clues to who had cloned my number plates.

Cloned licence found on a licence look up site

As you can see, my Honda Silvering is not a Honda Civic and certainly not green with a 1600 cc engine! I always wanted a larger scooter but 1600 would be a huge change from 600cc.

Mountain ride

This is bad, because of course its appearing places. However interestingly in the information which is blanked out, I can see the city location, history, etc. I won’t post it because I’m unsure how I feel about this, although with the right registration details you can look it up yourself.

Some resources for anyone who is facing the same. Starting with a BBC news page

Car cloning involves criminals stealing or copying another car’s registration plates, often choosing plates from a similar looking vehicle

The scam involves criminals using another person’s registration plates and running up fines and penalties which then land on their unsuspecting victims, who only realise there is an issue when the fines start arriving

Police say once reported, those affected can then contact the organisation that issued the fine, explain the vehicle has been cloned, that police have been informed, request cancellation and send supporting evidence if available

More practical advice and this quote shows how common it is…

Cloned number plates are very common in the UK, and the number of cases where cloned plates are involved has been increasing. Some of the factors that influenced the increase include the installation of more ANPR cameras, the expansion of London’s ULEZ area, and now more cities are introducing CRZ (Clean Air Zones).

Absolutereg.co.uk

 

 

 

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Mar 2021)

traveling with a passport and boarding pass

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed, hearing Bill Maher rip through a bunch of websites and people looking for new ways to track users now 3rd party tracking is on its way out?

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this with more nuanced privacy depth being discussed, participating in Mozilla’s #internethealth challenges moment and hearing Solana talk through the internet health report.

The background story of Tony Abbotts boarding pass

Ian thinks: We all heard the story about the former Australian minster who was hacked after posting his boarding pass on instagram but here is the incredible background story, told by the hacker.

Vaccine passports are not as simple as the media are suggesting

Ian thinks: Heather gives plain and clear reasons why vaccine passports are not the panacea its being made out to be. Its also great to hear Lillian Edwards framework mentioned (May 2020 newsletter) as a way forward.

Gamestop? Rethinking the whole rigged system

Ian thinks: Douglas Rushkoff’s monologue about gamestop needs a listen for a different view, but stay around for the interview with Yaël, previous head of political advertising at Facebook. She tells all and I like the approach of trying to fix it before criticising.

Lets talk about Sharenting

Ian thinks: Shareting is when parents share their kids photos and private information without their consent. Its become a real problem now the millennials are growing up with a digital footprint without knowing.

How Facebook joined the splinter-net while Google throw the open web under the bus?

Ian thinks: Hearing about the absolute mess over news in Australia, its easy to point fingers. But its important to look deeper at whats really happening for the sake of profits not people. I’m with Shoshana Zuboff and others, but I know many people get their news from these massive corps.

A big step for gigworkers, but lets be diligent of next steps

Ian thinks: The Uber case is great news but in a similar legal play to Facebook & Google with Australia, there might be more going on that most are reporting? We got to look a little deeper as monopoly is Uber’s end game.

Ian thinks: This is a devious way to force a take-down of a live stream or any recorded footage. Theres got to be a better way and I think its related to using alternative platforms or self hosting with syndication.

The centralisation of power is the problem

Ian thinks: I like this summary of so many of the problems with Facebook, but it misses the important point of centralisation. It also highlights Noam Cohen’s quote “Mark Zuckerberg is deluded by his own faith in Facebook’s ability to be a force for good in the world”

Public value and purpose into the future

Ian thinks: Mariana is on fire and this summary of work around the BBC puts value under a microscope. I love this line “Value is not just the income generated at the end of the innovation chain–– it is also the creative input at the upstream end, the vital investment in talent, content creation, digital innovation and R&D at the early stages”

Google fires another outspoken AI research, who will be next?

Ian thinks: Margaret Mitchell and Timnit Gebru show there is something going on with Google AI research. It doesn’t take a lot to guess what is actually going on behind close doors.

Find the archive here

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man and the police

Good to see Emmanuel Acho back at it…

I found this episode of uncomfortable conversations with the police quite a interesting one. Although good, it felt like there was something missing? Maybe there was a lot of outtakes or it was edited down quite a lot. What ever it was, it was intriguing but too short?

Wonder how different it might be with the UK police?

#blacklivesmatter, why I know this time we may see lasting change

John Carlos and Tommie Smith made headlines across the world when they raised the black power salute on the podium after winning in the 1968 Olympics

A couple of things confirmed to me this time we may see some changes. The question is will there be enough change?

White middle class people protesting in white middle class spaces

I was surprised last Wednesday afternoon, riding through Cholton in Manchester the amount of white people actively protesting on the side of road sides with #blacklivesmatter signs. It was deeply humbling to see people even giving the black power salute and taking a knee.

Its never been a black only problem, and I have a lot of time for protests in places which don’t make the press.

The true horror of the Atlantic slave trade

There has been so many calls to educate people about the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade and people of colour’s history.

Its being taken more seriously and the white fragility which held it back is being pushed a side for the better of society and the future.

 

The deconstruction of systematic racism block by block

Trevor looks at how depictions of police in film and TV can skew public perception of cops and glorify officers who break laws and use violence unnecessarily on the job

Its incredible the long history of the rouge police people who get the job done with violence, pressure and intimidation. We have gotten so numb to it that we just can’t/don’t connect whats happening in cases like the central park 5 and the excessive force in the cop dramas.

The deconstruction of these cultural programming is so important in the take down of systematic racism.

A understanding its not just about the police

Systematic racism will happily throw the police under the tracks, when a good number are actively anti-racist.

The amount of positive searches

Google hasn’t released the exact figures and of course this is well produced in their favor, but its telling and interesting to see if it grows beyond summer?

Systematic racism, a look at the prison system

13th

I recently watched 13th and learned a lot including about ALEC (plus the companies which have dropped support) and the effect of systematic racism on the crime & punishment systems.

Some quotes to think about…

Prison industrial complex, the system, the industry, it is a beast. It eats black and Latino people for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I think a beast is exactly right. The beast no one wants to talk about?

Police violence, that isn’t the problem in and of itself. It’s reflection of a much larger,brutal system of racial and social control known as mass incarceration, which authorizes this kind of police violence.

Exactly what I’ve been saying. This isn’t about the police, its about the system which encourages excessive force as black lives don’t matter.

People say all the time,
“I don’t understand how people could’ve tolerated slavery. How could they have made peace with that? How could people have gone to a lynching and participated in that?
How did people make sense of the segregation, this white and colored-only drinking…
That’s so crazy.
If I was living at that time, I would have never tolerated anything like that.”
And the truth is, we are living at this time, and we are tolerating it…

Its a quote which sums it up. Its hard to see how the status-quo is the problem when you are in it.

Updated

Just today John Oliver from Last Week Tonight, makes clear the threat of Covid19 and people stuck in Jail and Prison where social distancing isn’t an option and nor is soap! As most people in American prison’s are people of colour, it doesn’t take a lot to realize how devastating this virus is in a prison.

Well worth watching if you have access to HBO or a VPN.

More Police brutality in America

I found Trevor Noah was right on the money this week. Especially in the wake of the reaction to the Bristol police’s decision not to stop people pulling down the statue last week.

Warning there are some more shocking scenes of the police throwing their weight around, no one dies (this time).

I also haven’t posted this intense interactive piece on my blog. Its the last 8min 46secs of George Floyd’s life without video or sound. If you haven’t seen the videos including the NYTimes one which I posted about a while ago, this will give you a sense of the last moments of a black mans life, under the knee of the police.

Chief constable Andy Bennett was so right

 

Sorry but Chief Constable Andy Bennett was absolutely right to leave the protestors last week alone as they torn down the statute of Edward Colston.

Any kind of confrontation would have ended up in something far worst. Can you even imagine the police standing in the way of protesters defending a slave owner!

No, Andy Bennett showed incredible cultural intelligence. No matter what anyone else says.

“To arrest suspects would likely to lead to injuries to suspects, injuries to officers, and people who were not involved in damaging property being thrown into a very violent confrontation with the police that could have had serious ramifications for the city of Bristol and beyond,” Mr Marsh said.

“Can you imagine scenes of police in Bristol fighting with protesters who were damaging the statue of a man who is reputed to have gathered much of his fortune through the slave trade?

“I think there would have been very serious implications and whilst I certainly do not condone crime or damage of any sort, I fully support the actions of my officers.

2 hour special Cracker tonight (october 1st 2006)

Cracker

Cracker is back for one more special episode. Hopefully to sort out that terriable mess of a special episode which they called White Ghost. The story line goes something like this.

Fitz returns to Manchester for his daughter's wedding, but is soon involved in another murder investigation when an American comedian is killed, apparently without motive.

Just incase you don't know what Cracker is, from Wikipedia

Fitz is a classic antihero, unfaithful to his wife, alcoholic, a chain smoker, overweight, addicted to gambling, manic, foulmouthed and sarcastic; and yet cerebral and excellent at his speciality: getting into the heads of violent criminals. As Fitz confesses in “Brotherly Love”: “I drink too much, I smoke too much, I gamble too much. I am too much.”

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