Durham police keep roads safer with new licence plate reader tech

Durham Regional Police (DRPS) are embracing new technology to keep the region’s roads safer.

On Friday, police launched automatic licence plate reader (ALPR) technology in their cruisers.

ALPRs are camera systems that photograph licence plates. All plates within the camera’s scanning range are captured automatically.

“The system consists of 3 cameras which allow for the detection of licence plates across multiple lanes and in both directions,” DRPS said in a tweet.

As the system scans and captures images, officers receive a “hit” when a plate matches one from their hotlist.

The hotlist is a database equipped with millions of licence plates in poor standing. DRPS said those include stolen plates, as well as vehicles and plates registered to suspended drivers. Suspended drivers may be guilty of impaired driving, expired permits and other offences.

0:42 Driver facing more than $2K in fines for paper licence plate, other infractions

The system will also notify officers of missing and wanted persons and vehicles associated with ongoing investigations.

“The system provides 3 alert levels to officers,” DRPS tweeted. “High, medium and low. High includes Amber Alerts / Stolen Vehicles / Wanted Parties.”

The requirement to have a licence plate sticker for vehicles, light-duty trucks, motorcycles and mopeds was eliminated on Saturday. DRPS said this new tool will help mitigate any associated road and officer safety risks.

They said the introduction of ALPR technology aims to improve public safety, strengthen roadside law enforcement efforts across the province, and help officers work more efficiently and safely.

2:29 Peterborough County OPP launch licence plate recognition technology

This comes after the successful launch of automated licence readers in a number of police jurisdictions and municipalities this year. In February, OPP said their ALPR system flagged 32 vehicles during a 22-minute traffic stop in Mississauga.

DRPS said 89 police cruisers will be equipped with ALPR technology by December 2023, with the help of a government grant.