An Automatic License Plate Recognition vehicle now in use by Ottawa Police

(Ottawa) – The Ottawa Police Service has begun operating an Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) vehicle. The device assists police in ensuring road safety by identifying a variety of Highway Traffic Act (HTA) infractions, including stolen license plates and suspended or unlicensed drivers. The device is already in use by other police services in Canada.

The ALPR has been installed on a fully marked service vehicle, a Ford Explorer. The system views license plates and compares them to a provincial database. If any irregularities are found, it alerts the officer. The system can view up to 5000 plates an hour.

Irregularities the system can identify:

Stolen license plates

Misuse of plates

Driving whilst disqualified (CC)

Driving whilst suspended (HTA)

Unlicensed driver

Expired validation

Persons wanted on warrant

The ALPR system will also be used to alert officers of the presence of vehicles involved in a serious crime such as Amber Alerts, suspects in crimes and high risk offenders.

“The Ottawa Police will abide by privacy guidelines, based on our consultation with the Ontario Privacy Commissioner,” said Sgt. Robert Cairns, Escort and Traffic Support Services. “Non hit vehicles will be deleted from the database immediately; whereas positive hits will be retained for five (5) years on the system for disclosure purposes.

Funding for the ALPR was provided by the Safer Roads Ottawa Program.

The Safer Roads Ottawa Program is a leading community partnership between Ottawa Fire Services, Ottawa Paramedic Service, Ottawa Police Service, Ottawa Public Health and the Public Works Department committed to preventing or eliminating road deaths and serious injuries for all people in the City of Ottawa, through culture change, community engagement, and development of a sustainable safe transportation environment.

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