In-Car Camera and Automatic Licence Plate Recognition

The Axon In-Car-Camera (ICC) system is integrated with the ALPR technology.  ALPRs automatically capture images of licence plates within the camera’s scanning range. This camera is mounted on the windshield of police vehicles.

The mobile system continuously scans licence plates that will alert officers to any “hits” on a “hotlist”.  The officer will take appropriate enforcement action to verify the findings.

 A hot list is a database that contains millions of licence plates in poor standing. The hot list is populated by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC). Licence plates that are in poor standing can fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Plates that belong to a driver with a suspended licence.
• Plates associated with stolen vehicles or that are reported stolen or missing.
• Plates that have been suspended.
• Plates with expired validation tags.
• Plates associated with persons with outstanding Canada-wide warrants or who are reported missing.

 A hit refers to a scanned licence plate that appears to match a plate on a hot list.

A non-hit happens when a scanned license plate does not match a plate on the hot list.

Where a hit exists, the ALPR alerts the officer with an image of the vehicle (front or rear), with a close-up image of the licence plate. The ALPR hit only notifies the officer of the type of offence. The ALPR camera does not identify any individual or access their personal information through its analysis of licence plate numbers.

 If your licence plate is scanned and is a non-hit, the officer will not be notified that your plate was scanned. All information related to a non-hit is deleted. 

The officer must verify all information within the hit before taking any enforcement action. Hit information is retained in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).

No, ALPR technology is not designed to collect images of drivers or vehicle occupants. 

No, ALPR technology does not have facial recognition and cannot detect gender, race, or other identifying characteristics.

No.

All unmarked/marked Traffic Enforcement Unit vehicles and all marked uniform police vehicles.

All requests to view data must be made through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. 

The Axon In-Car Cameras (ICC) are integrated with ALPR technology and have audio and video recording capabilities. The police vehicles are equipped with two cameras:

• One forward facing, high-definition, camera attached to the windshield.
• One rear facing, high-definition camera, affixed in the prison compartment.  

ICC systems provide an unbiased, independent account of police interactions. They help the NRPS provide accountability and transparency to the community we serve. Footage collected will be used in police investigations, documented as evidence, and offer an unbiased perspective regarding allegation of misconduct.

Video is generated when the system is triggered through manual activation by the officer or pre-determined automatic triggers such as turning on the roof lights.  

In-car cameras record what is in the view of the vehicle outside the front windshield, as well as in the back seat of the cruiser. There is a light that is activated and changes from green to red when the camera is recording. Where safe and practicable, police officers will notify individuals that they are being audio/video recorded. 

Recording notification stickers will be installed in the prisoner compartment. 

 No.

Unrelated information inadvertently captured during an interaction will be redacted.

Members of the NRPS are not obligated to turn off an ICC camera. If a member of the public does not want to be recorded, they can notify the officer. However, the recording will likely continue if the interaction occurs in a public place. 

All requests for data must be made through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

 Complaints about policing services or officer conduct can be submitted through the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) has released guidelines on the use of ALPRS by police services. The report ensures that the Police Service’s use of this technology respects citizens' privacy rights recognized under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that personal information is handled in a lawful manner.

Our collection, retention, use, and disclosure of any personal information obtained from the ALPR is done so in compliance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).

If you have concerns about privacy and how information in used and/or stored in regards to the ICC/ALPR initiative, you can contact us at ICCALPR@niagarapolice.ca.