KENORA – NEWS – All patrol vehicles at the Kenora Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) now have the Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) and In-Car-Camera systems installed and activated. This initiative is made possible by the government’s investment in the OPP and municipal police services across Ontario.
This technology is a manifestation of the OPP’s dedication to transparency and accountability in community policing. It will also help enhance the safety of both officers and the public.
ALPR or Automated Licence Plate Recognition is a technology that uses optical character recognition (OCR) to read license plates and then stores the plate numbers and related information in a database. The system captures the image of a license plate, which is then processed by specialized software to read the characters on the plate. ALPR systems can be mounted on fixed structures, such as bridges or poles, or they can be mobile and mounted on patrol vehicles.
The ALPR function will aid officers in detecting license plates that are linked to criminal or traffic offenses, including those associated with wanted or missing people, stolen vehicles, and suspended or prohibited drivers. Additionally, the in-car video recording equipment will provide objective evidence of officer interactions with members of the public.
The Kenora Detachment hopes that this technology will also help curb the number of drivers operating vehicles without valid and registered plates. While vehicle owners are not required to purchase a validation sticker, the license plates must be renewed annually or bi-annually.
The OPP remains committed to delivering innovative and proactive policing in partnership with communities to ensure public safety. The officers value the public’s contribution to building safe communities.
