Your Alberta Blog
Front plates not on the table
There has been some discussion today about whether the Government of Alberta should bring back front licence plates for vehicles. This week, the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police recommended that the government bring them back.
I appreciate the association's advice and I consider the association a partner in public safety. However, we have no plans to reintroduce front plates. Albertans were clear on this matter during consultations in the past two years. Eighty per cent of respondents to an online survey and 60 per cent of respondents in a public opinion poll were opposed to front plates.
We are planning to introduce a new reflective Alberta plate in the years ahead when funding becomes available, but we are not reconsidering our decision about front plates.
- Hon. Heather Klimchuk, Minister of Service Alberta






Comments
(Comment Moderation is enabled. Your comment will not appear until approved.)This Government ministers stubborness on this issue is definately a sign that this Government doesn't care about safety, or crime, and obviously doesn't care what the police say or want so long as the people who answered the survey are happy.
You definately need to reconsider your stand on this matter.
Rod
There is no proof or statistic that proves a front plate has any benefit to reducing crime as stated by the Police Chief. The only benefit would be for traffic cameras and parking control officers that use a vehicle with a camera.
ALPR technology works best with both front and rear plates, as the more plates it see, the more it scans, without a front plate, approaching vehicles cannot be scanned, thus making the system less effective.
This is one of many reasons why all one-plate jurisdictions are looking at going to front plates, it just makes sense. We as a society must give the police every tool we can to keep our communities safe, and front plates will do that. Its just common sense.
Rod
Front plates are often dirty from road grime and bugs and at best of time are difficult to read while a vehicle approaches.
Money can better be spent by adding extra officers or better equipment,
We must remember that the whole point of a license plate is to identify the vehicle, since if there was no need for vehicle identification we would not need plates at all.
Fact is the police chiefs have the knowledge of these things, and would be considered experts in this field, and wouldn't be asking for this if there was no benefit to it. None of us, including the Government should be overriding what they are saying, I mean why would this Government want to take the advice from people who don't know all the facts, when they should be listening to the experts who know, after all thats what we elect them for, but unfortunately it seems they are just out looking for votes, thats why I disagree so much with what they're saying.
There are always better ways of doing things, and I feel they should look at all options,not blow them off because of some stupid survey, which was probably flawed to begin with.
Rod
I need to ask a few questions here,and I hope someone can answer them for me.
The first question I have is did this Government minister do any research, to show the effectiveness of having a front mounted plate, in regards to safety, law enforcement effectiveness on identifying crime vehicles,and its effect on whether or not it improves over all the ability to better identify vehicles.
Does this minister not agree that vehicle identification is an important tool for police and the general public, and that there maybe times when the single rear plate may not be visible to properly identify the vehicle.
That rapid and effective vehicle identification is crucial in crime prevention/reduction, and that saving valuable officer time can result in a higher rate of solved crimes, with less man hours.
That over all public safety, and crime reduction far outweighs any extra cost associated with providing for the extra plates?
It seems to me, and many others that I have talked to that commonsense should prevail here, and commonsense would seem to indicate that safety and apprehension of criminals would outweigh any thing that the public says, especially when the general public may not have all the facts on the matter.
There also seems to be some misinformation coming from this minister on the matter. Back when it was originally announced that they would not proceed with front plates based on the fact that vehicle identification was working well, and police have adapted to the one plate system since it was brought in several years ago, however neither of these statements appear to be true, since the police again are asking for them to be returned.It seems that this minister is confused and possibly doesnt understand the issue.
The underlying issue here as one poster said, the whole point of licence plates is to identify the vehicle, so why then would it be appropriate to have an ineffective system when it comes to vehicle identification.
Lets use some common sense and do what needs to be done, and improve on the system thats in place.People will eventually see the benefit too it.
Dan
The issue of a front licence plate is certainly controversial for many people and there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue. The fact is, to our knowledge, no conclusive studies have been done on the effectiveness of a front licence plate. Some jurisdictions choose to have them; others don't. Here in Canada, seven other provinces or territories don't have a front plate. In the U.S., 21 states don't have a front plate. Alberta hasn't had a front plate for more than 15 years.
The clear results from our consultation showed that the vast majority of Albertans do not want a front plate re-introduced, and law enforcement officials, while certainly favouring a front plate, indicated they can continue their operations without one.
In the end, it comes down to reviewing the various opinions and making a decision that factors in the issues of cost, inconvenience, safety, and the overall best interest of the province.
In the years ahead, we do plan to introduce a new licence plate design once funding is available, and we've committed to ensuring the new plate is made of the latest reflective materials -- something that will greatly assist law enforcement officials in our province.
Thank you again for your comment.
You still insist that the vast majority of people dont support it, but Did you give all the information to the people regarding the effectiveness of these plates? It seems that many people simply aren't aware of the benefits of these plates.
Is the main concern cost? Does it really cost that much extra for these extra plates, especially when it comes to making vehicle identification easier? Does safety not out weigh cost?
Is it not in the best interest of the province to improve safety where it can?
With all the new technology out there today such as ALPR would it not be beneficial to have these? It seems that this and other new technology out there works much better with front plates. It seems that spending money on new plates with out correcting this issue at the same time is a waste of money, as we may very well find out in the not to distant future that they will be needed for this new technology to work properly, and then we will once again have to issue new plates to correct the issue, so it would seem to make more sense to do it at the same time,otherwise there is no point in proceeding with new plates, to still have the same problem, only with a different colour plate, and a multi million dollar price tag.
Dan
It is far easier for police to verify a car registration status from behind than it is from the front!
Having a front plate will do NOTHING to reduce crime. A criminal knows how to simply lift plates off a car, ideally parked at a long term parking lot, to commit an offence.
The Minister is 100% correct, Albertans have voiced their opinion and it is clearly understood, no front license plates.
I know this because I personally know people that did this years ago, back when this province was actually smart enough to provide two plates. They got caught because they never changed the front one.
Criminals are loving this system we have in place now, and I'm sure many of them voted to keep it at one plate.
If I were a criminal I know I would love this system too.
Dave
Mike