A new camera put up just outside town which caused intense speculation over whether congestion-charging was about to begin is in fact another crime-busting tool for police.

Ever since a camera was installed on Linton Hill just outside Maidstone on Tuesday last week, there has been a flurry of posts on Twitter and Facebook suggesting it was a first step towards implementing "filter zones", such as those recently proposed in Oxford.

Oxfordshire County Council wants to use ANPR cameras at six key entry points into the city.

Residents will receive a permit allowing them to pass freely on 100 days a year, and there will be exemptions for delivery vans, emergency vehicles, medical staff and carers.

All other traffic passing those points during certain hours will receive a £70 fine. The purpose is to cut congestion in Oxford city centre and the scheme is not due to start until 2024.

Many online were convinced that Maidstone was about to suffer the same fate, while others thought the camera was yet a further extension of the ULEZ (ultra low emission) scheme.

Jenny Cuckow was typical of those posting.

She said: "When 15-minute city areas are made and people can no longer just go from one side of town to the other without a special permit or face being fined, it will be too late."

She said: "People need to wake up and see what is going on; it's not just here but in other countries too. Our freedom is being taken from under our nose."

Iffrat Rasheed agreed, warning we are "walking into dystopia."

Russ Talliss was more sceptical. He said: "There is no chance in this world or the next that Maidstone council is looking at a 15-minute city charge.

"Complete rubbish!"

Kent Online can reveal the camera is nothing to do with the council.

It is a Kent Police camera designed to cut down on crime.

A national police spokesman said: "We use ANPR technology to help detect, deter and disrupt criminal activity at a local, force, regional and national level.

"This includes travelling criminals – those using the road network to avoid being caught – organised crime groups and terrorists.

"ANPR provides lines of inquiry and evidence in the investigation of crime and is used by forces throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland."

As a vehicle passes an ANPR camera, its registration number is read and instantly checked against database records of "vehicles of interest."

If it triggers an alert, officers can then stop the vehicle, speak to the occupants and, where necessary, make arrests.

The spokesman said: "ANPR has proved important in the detection of many offences, including locating, for example, people wanted for arrest or missing, witnesses, stolen vehicles, uninsured vehicles and uncovering cases of major crime."

Across the country, some 60million records are submitted to the national ANPR system every day.

The data is stored for one year before being destroyed.

Many police cars carry ANPR cameras and there are already static police cameras at a number of points across the borough including on the A249 just off the M20, in Parkwood, on the Tonbridge Road in Maidstone, and on the B2010 Farleigh Hill.

Their use is overseen by the Surveillance Camera Commissioner.

The use of ANPR cameras is widespread in many other areas of society.

Many garages employ them to prevent motorists from "bilking" – driving off without paying.

An increasing number of supermarkets are using them to enforce car parking charges on those who over-stay their welcome, and National Highways uses them on the motorway network, to enable them to monitor traffic flows between points and to enforce average speed limits.