April 3, 2023 12:23pm
West Region Ontario Provincial Police cruisers have all been outfitted with new equipment.
Over 300 patrol vehicles now have Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) and In-Car-Camera (ICC) systems.
West Region OPP Regional Media Relations Coordinator Derek Rogers said system installations began in February and wrapped up at the end of March.
He said the equipment allows officers to flag vehicles’ front licence plates as they pass, and quickly search a database to see if there are any issues with that registration.
“Some of those things could be expired plates, wanted people, missing persons, stolen vehicles, Amber Alerts, suspended and prohibited drivers, that kind of thing,” said Rogers.
He said since system installations started, officers have been surprised by the high number of vehicles flagged with expired licence plates.
“I went out on a video shoot with an officer who had the system installed in his vehicle,” said Rogers. “I was out there with him for I believe it was 29 minutes, just under half an hour, and within that span of time the system flagged 27 vehicles, almost one a minute. And, 26 of the 27 were for expired plates.”
Although vehicle owners are no longer required to purchase validation stickers for their licence plates, you are still required to renew them annually or bi-annually.
Rogers said the new ALPR and ICC systems are an example of the OPP’s commitment to increasing transparency, accountability and public safety.
“It’s another public safety tool for our officers and if we can get drivers off the road who shouldn’t be there in the first place, then certainly that benefits everyone.”