Scanauto

Breda City Council

The local authority uses camera-equipped vehicles for parking and waste collection checks. These vehicles are fitted with cameras that can read number plates. They also check whether the vehicle is permitted to park in accordance with the regulations.

Last change on 30th of June 2026, at 9:21 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Impactful algorithms
• Impact assessment: DPIA
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Traffic

Begin date

2020-01

Contact information

https://www.breda.nl/contact

Link to publication website

https://www.breda.nl/parkeercontrole-door-scanauto

Responsible use

Goal and impact

Enforcement of paid parking and parking with a parking permit or exemption

The scanning vehicle takes photographs of the motor vehicle’s number plate and checks the parking entitlement in the National Parking Register (NPR) and ARS T&TT’s list of vehicles with exemptions (hereinafter: the ‘whitelist’). These registers record parking fee payments and list the number plates that hold a parking permit or exemption.

If the NPR shows that there is no valid parking authorisation, the photograph is forwarded to Breda City Council. An enforcement officer will then review this photograph. If an offence has been committed, you will receive a supplementary tax assessment from Invoned within two weeks for parking without a valid parking authorisation.

Enforcement of illegal parking

The scanning vehicle takes photographs of the number plate of the motor vehicle parked on the pavement and checks the ARS T&TT whitelist to see if it has an exemption from the ban on stopping on the pavement.

If the whitelist shows that no exemption is in place, the photograph is forwarded to Breda City Council. A Special Investigating Officer (BOA) then checks this photograph. If an offence has been committed, you will receive a traffic fine within three weeks, issued by the Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB).

 

Considerations

Before the introduction of the scanning vehicle, every suspicious vehicle encountered during enforcement required individual follow-up by a parking warden or special investigating officer (BOA). This approach makes enforcement labour-intensive, which reduces the pressure of enforcement. The next step in digital enforcement – the automatic issuing of fines with the aid of a desk force – will deliver a major efficiency gain and enable enforcement pressure to increase significantly. In this way, Breda can successfully achieve its objectives in terms of quality of life and (road) safety.

Human intervention

Once the algorithm has matched the scanned number plate to the Parking Entitlement Database, it becomes clear whether or not there is a valid parking entitlement. If it is determined that a vehicle does not have a valid parking entitlement, a further assessment is carried out by a member of staff.

Risk management

A disruption in the chain can lead to a vehicle registration number being misidentified. That is why a human check has been added to the process to minimise these errors.

Legal basis

The Local Government Act stipulates that the municipal council may adopt by-laws concerning the levying and collection of parking charges. These are set out in the current by-law on the levying and collection of parking charges. This tax by-law specifies that a charge must be paid for the use of public space and where such a charge is payable.

The legal basis for the Mulder enforcement scheme is the Act on the Administrative Enforcement of Traffic Regulations, better known as the Mulder Act.

Links to legal bases

• Article 156, paragraphs 1 and 2, the introductory words and sub-paragraph (h), and Article 225 of the Local Government Act: https://wetten.overheid.nl/jci1.3:c:BWBR0005416&titeldeel=III&hoofdstuk=IX&artikel=156&z=2024-01-31&g=2024-01-31
• The Mulder Act: https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0004581/2026-01-01/0
• Breda Parking Regulations: https://lokaleregelgeving.overheid.nl/CVDR670936/1

Impact assessment

Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

Operations

Data

GPS coordinates, registration number, car model, raw image data (supplied by ARVOO, part of scan unit processing), parking authorisation (NPR), parking bay map

Technical design

The scanning vehicle scans a number plate; the number plate is checked against the parking enforcement database (NPR). If any enforcement actions are found, the record is deleted; if none are found, the photographs taken, the location data, the time, date and vehicle details (RDW) are linked to the number plate and submitted as a single record to the Deskforce (ARS), where the record is assessed by an enforcement officer. Following assessment, the enforcement officer may issue a supplementary charge, a decision (Mulder) or a warning, or reject the record if there are inaccuracies.

In some cases, a second algorithm is used, specifically for privacy protection. This algorithm detects faces and renders them unrecognisable by means of automatic blurring. This process is only activated if a member of the public objects to an additional charge and/or requests access to the image recording. The blurring functionality is a separate software application and is independent of the number plate recognition algorithm, both procedurally and technically. Facial recognition and blurring may make use of neural networks, and additional documentation can be provided if necessary.

External provider

ARS Traffic & Transport Technology