Timmins police aim to buy licence plate reader to identify suspended drivers on the road
Const. Chris Gauthier of the Timmins Police Service said he's noticing an upward trend in the number of suspended drivers on local roadways.
He said since November 2020, there are approximately 2,400 suspensions in the city, including people who have expired permits, are caught driving stolen vehicles or are unlicensed.
"They’re either more prone to collisions, more aggressive driving, which is why their licence was suspended in the first place,” Gauthier said.
And that's why he pitched a new piece of equipment to administration. It's a licence plate reader and the OPP and local police in Sudbury are already using them. Gauthier said it's a fantastic tool.
“There’s multiple cameras," he said. "They’re consistently scanning licence plates. It can do about 1,800 a minute and it’s essentially just cross-referencing all those licence plates to a database which is attached to the Ministry of Transportation.”
Officials said it's got a price tag of about $32,000 and it's been included in next year's proposed Timmins Police budget.
The Timmins Police Services Board has just approved it, along with several other requests, such as adding four more officers.
“Timmins police is confronting a serious issue as far as officers off on long-term illness, so we are entertaining all sorts of measures to return these officers to the workforce," said police spokesperson Marc Depatie.
"But it’s a process and in the meanwhile, we have to be mindful of the reality that our call for service volume is extremely high."
The proposed $17 million budget must now get approval from Timmins council.
Officials said they also want to improve the organization's computer system and surveillance cameras, and they said it's also time to upgrade the machine used to test suspected drunk drivers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.