Your Alberta Blog

I can't understand why this Government is so opposed to something that is going to be a major benefit to the police, and the public, who often witness crimes, but cannot identify the vehicle, its a public safety issue. As for the Governments view that the public does not support it, I have to ask when did the public get to decide the laws of the province? is this something new? I always thought we elect a Government to make these decisions, not ask the public. Do you even know who these people were that answered the survey, were they criminals,wreckless drivers, etc. whom of course would not want to be identified.
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

I completely disagree with Gord's comment,that there is no proof that front plates would help in reducing crime, in fact the opposite is true. The front plates have proven to be valuable in solving crimes in a number of cases in jurisdictions that use them, in fact if there was no benefit to it then no jurisdiction would use them, but the fact is that more than half the jurisdictions in North America use front plates, and there is a reason for this. Also with the advent of new technology that is available today, such as ALPR, being able to rapidly identify vehicles from both directions has proven to be a valuable and cost effective way to solve crime.

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

Yah Gord I do agree that we need more police out in the community pulling people over and unfortunately they have maybe gotten lazy, like you said in your first comment, that they rely too much on photo radar, but that being said there are technologies out there that can assist them. I'm not saying front plates are going to completely solve the problem, but it is a tool, and has been an effective tool in other jurisdictions, but with the growing population its not possible for police to be every where so if a crime is taking place citizins need to be able to assist where they can in providing vehicle identification and other information where they can. There are instances were a rear plate cannot be viewed, such as in cases were the vehicle is following children and attempting abductions, robberies of convenience stores, gas thefts, these kinds of things. Its also important to note that in the winter time generally the rear plate is covered in snow, because snow is sucked up on rear of vehicle when driving on snow covered roads, pick up trucks are especially bad for this because of where the plate is located. Same thing happens in muddy conditions as well. Next time it snows check the vehicles that you are following, also note the ones approaching, you will notice the ones you are following that its almost impossible to get plate number,because its snow covered, so thus there is no way to id the vehicle, yet the cars with the front plate, or a vanity plate, the front is always visible.
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

Thank you for your comment, 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.

License plates are for vehicle identification not crime prevention. If front plates are so important, may I suggest that we expand this to include SIDE license plates, akin to race car numbers on the sides, to aid in identification of the car.

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.

Massachussetts and Connecticut returned to front plates after having only rear plates for years, so its actually 19 states that don't have a front plate.

Mike