THERE are no fixed speed cameras in North Yorkshire, which many motorists would consider a blessing.

While it can be argued speed cameras discourage speeding motorists, they are unpopular with many drivers, who believe they are a covert means of raising funds.

There is another sort of camera used by the police, however, whose use is easier to support. The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) units are used to catch wanted people and trace stolen cars.

Police in North Yorkshire want to expand their number, and say that the four existing cameras, along with mobile hand-held units, have led to the arrest of more than 200 people and the seizure of property worth more than £1.25 million in one year.

Now the force wants to install three more such cameras, to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour. With the march of technology, we face a constant dilemma over the balance between the right to privacy and the demands of the state.

Some state spying seems a step too far, while other initiatives are important in the fight against crime. The ANPR units will be concentrated on tracing and hopefully arresting miscreants, and so the law-abiding should have little to fear.

The technology used by these units flags up passing vehicles which have recorded links to crimes and motoring offences.

The police clearly find such technology useful - but there is another reason why forces like them. Under a Home Office incentive, local forces can keep half of all cash seized from criminals. Three more such cameras should help the police to go about their important work, and should therefore be welcomed.