In the spring of 2014 Wellington County OPP received one of the new automated licence plate recognition (ALPR) cruisers for full-time use.
ALPR is a license plate scanning tool that uses infra-red illumination to capture an image of both the front and back of a vehicle. The system is capable of scanning thousands of licence plates per hour, checking them in real time against the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s database of “plates in poor standing.”
Since deploying the fully-marked cruiser a year ago, trained Wellington OPP officers have operated the camera-equipped vehicle approximately 761 hours on area roads throughout all seven municipalities.
“This specialized equipment has been a tremendously positive tool for our officers in their work to continue to ensure Wellington remains one of the safest communities in Canada,” said OPP Detachment Commander Scott Lawson.
“While traffic safety remains one of our top priorities here in Wellington County, more importantly the ALPR cruiser has afforded us is the ability to look beyond the initial violation and uncover some real criminal activity.”
Results one year after the ALPR cruiser was introduced in Wellington County include:
– 761 hours of patrol;
– 64 suspended drivers;
– 37 unlicensed drivers;
– six prohibited drivers;
– 335 roadside breathalyzer tests, 67 warning range suspensions and 22 drinking and driving charges;
– 24 drug charges;
– eight Criminal Code charges;
– four warrants executed;
– 165 Highway Traffic Act offences; and
– 52 insurance charges.
“We will continue to deploy this piece of equipment … The results speak for themselves,” said Lawson.
