York Regional Police receives $255,000 to expand camera surveillance program
By David Yin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
The Ontario government is funding $255,000 towards the York Regional Police (YRP) Closed-circuit Television (CCTV) Community Camera Program.
As part of the Ontario CCTV Grant Program, YRP tied for the most amount of funding received for 2024 to 2025, along with the Cobourg Police Service and London Police Service.
YRP is using the funding to add cameras in 22 public locations throughout the region, on top of its 16 existing surveillance sites. The police analyzed its own data to determine violent crime hotspots that could benefit from CCTV camera monitoring.
YRP is also using the funding to replace outdated equipment and enhance current technology from the camera program.
Each camera contains automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology to identify stolen vehicles.
In a Sept. 22 press conference, YRP Deputy Chief Paulo Da Silva said that ALPR will use the camera technology to scan licence plates and compare them to the police’s stolen vehicle hotlist. If ALPR identifies a match, it will notify YRP’s real-time operation centre, who will then confirm the stolen vehicle and dispatch officers.
He also said that the police will monitor each location for other violent crimes, such as robberies, thefts, and home invasions.
He said that compared to 2024, areas within 1 km of a CCTV camera saw more than a six per cent reduction in crime.
“With this funding and this technology, we are better equipped to detect, deter, and arrest those who commit crime, helping us protect our community and better serve the people of York Region,” he said.
Cameras are restricted from filming private homes. YRP will keep all footage for only 72 hours, unless a certain footage is necessary for an investigation.
The Ontario CCTV Grant Program launched in 2020 as part of Ontario’s Guns, Gangs, and Violence Reduction Strategy. The program has provided a total of $2 million across multiple police forces for 2024 to 2025.
For more information about the YRP CCTV Community Camera Program, head to www.yrp.ca/en/crime-prevention/cctv-community-cameras.asp.
Photo: York Regional Police is using the $255,000 grant funding to install CCTV cameras in 22 new locations across the region.