Police officers still getting caught by speed cameras, data shows

The number of Ottawa police officers getting caught by the city's growing automated speed camera network continues to rise, a report coming before the police board next week shows.

There were 75 internal investigations launched into alleged speed camera violations in the first three months of 2024, according to data found in the police complaints report.

That's compared to only 32 such investigations in the first quarter of 2023.

Speed cameras have been training their lenses on Ottawa's streets since 2020, but they became much more prominent last year when the City of Ottawa vastly expanded its camera network.

There are currently 40 automated speed cameras scattered across Ottawa, according to openly available data the city posts online.

All but four of them were up and running as of February, the latest date for which the data set lists ticket infractions.

Trend noticed last summer

The report looked at both public complaints against the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) and internal complaints initiated at the discretion of the police chief.

Internal complaints, which include driving-related matters, jumped 36 per cent during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, a rise driven entirely by alleged speed camera violations. Other matters relating to the operation of police vehicles, such as crashes and violations at red light cameras, dropped slightly over that time span.

The report echoes a trend that's been noticed since at least last summer, when the police board was informed that camera-related violations involving OPS officers were rising.

An Ottawa Police Service cruiser seen at a crime scene last October. (Michel Aspirot/CBC News)

But given the city's increased focus on camera-based enforcement, that trend isn't too troubling, said Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr on Wednesday.

"I think naturally, you will see an increase in tickets across the entire population, and not just the police," said Carr, who sits on the Ottawa Police Services Board but made clear she was not speaking on its behalf.

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Carr added she didn't know many Ottawa police officers were being captured by the cameras while in the midst of "legitimate" police business.

Public complaints steady

As for public complaints about OPS members, there were 82 in the first quarter of 2024, the report says — no change from the same period last year.

Just over one-third were referred to the force's professional standards unit to be looked at more closely, with the rest screened out for various reasons by the province's Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

The report also notes that two OPS officers were suspended during the first few months of the year, while three matters were referred to the Special Investigations Unit, the province's independent police watchdog, for further investigation.

The board will consider the complaints report at its next meeting on April 22.