Skip to Content
Emergency: 911
  • Careers
  • File a Report
  • Contact Us

Ottawa Police Service Logo Ottawa Police Service Logo

Contact Us
  • Reports and Requests
    • Alarm Registration
    • Collision Reporting
    • Compliments and Complaints
    • Contact Us
    • Court
    • Destruction of Fingerprints and Photographs
    • File a Report
    • Paid Duty and Events
    • Record and Background Checks
    • Request a Copy of a Police Report
    • Victim Support Unit
  • Community Safety and Crime Prevention
    • Community Police Centres
    • Community Safety and Well-Being
    • Crime Map
    • Crime Prevention
    • Projects and Publications
    • Scams and Fraud
    • Traffic and Road Safety
    • Water and Boating Safety
  • News and Updates
    • Crime Map
    • Crime Stats
    • Demonstrations and Protests
    • Disciplinary Hearings and Decisions
    • Media Contacts
    • Missing Persons
    • News and Events
    • Persons to Identify
    • Rewards
    • Wanted Persons
  • Careers and Volunteering
    • Careers - Sworn and Civilian
    • Community Equity Council
    • Student and Youth Opportunities
    • Volunteer
    • Youth Advisory Committee
  • Who We Are
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • In the Community
    • Media Contacts
    • Our History
    • Ottawa Police Service Gala
    • Police Services Board
    • Projects and Publications
    • Sections and Units

An Ottawa Police Service Officer makes a traffic stop

HomeCommunity Safety and Crime PreventionTraffic and Road Safety
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Traffic Services

Improving road safety and enforcing the rules of the road are significant priorities for the Ottawa Police Service.

Our Traffic Services Unit is dedicated to improving safety on an enormous amount of rural roads and urban streets.

The Ottawa Police Marine, Dive and Trails (MDT) Unit patrols the vast waterways and trail systems in the Ottawa area.

Together, our goal is to improve road, trail, and waterway safety through intelligence-led, evidence-based, and proactive enforcement. This would not be possible without our partners.

Automatic Licence Plate Recognition 

The Ottawa Police Service uses an Automatic Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) vehicle, a device which helps police ensure road safety by identifying a variety of Highway Traffic Act (HTA) infractions, including stolen licence plates, and suspended or unlicensed drivers.

This piece of technology has been an enormous help in identifying drivers who should not be on the road.

An ALPR can identify:

  • Stolen licence plates
  • Misuse of plates
  • Driving whilst disqualified (CC)
  • Driving whilst suspended (HTA)
  • Unlicensed driver
  • Expired validation
  • Persons wanted on warrant

It can also alert officers of the presence of vehicles involved in serious crimes or wanted in instances of Amber Alerts.

The system views licence plates and compares them to a provincial database. If any irregularities are found, it alerts the officer. The system can view up to 5000 plates an hour and is also in use by other police services in Canada.

The Ottawa Police abide by privacy guidelines, based on our consultation with the Ontario Privacy Commissioner. This means that non-hit vehicles are deleted from the database immediately; whereas positive hits are retained for five years on the system for disclosure purposes.

Ottawa Police first began using ALPR technology in 2016.

Funding for the purchase of the ALPR units has come from the Safer Roads Ottawa Program. 

You will see officers from Traffic Services doing:

  • Traffic enforcement
  • VIP traffic escorts
  • Parades, demonstrations, and major events
  • Special projects focused on things like speeding, wearing seatbelts, distracted driving and much more
  • Traffic complaint investigations

There is a ton of information about traffic and road safety in Ottawa and across Ontario.

Some good places to start include:

  • City of Ottawa
  • Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Visit Ontario.ca for information about road conditions, driver's licences, vehicle registration, emissions testing, and commercial vehicles.

The Official Ministry of Transportation (MTO) Driver's Handbook can answer your questions about driving, laws and rules of the road.

Here are some of the most popular topics we get asked about:

  • Car and booster seat safety
  • Cycling safety
  • Distracted driving
    • Leave the Phone Alone
  • Driving near pedestrian crossovers and school crossings
  • E-Scooters
  • E-Bikes
  • Highway Traffic Act (Ontario)
  • Impaired driving
    • Drive sober
  • Motorcycle safety
  • Pedestrian safety
  • Road safety
  • School bus safety
  • Tickets
  • Winter driving

Related information:

  • Collision reporting
  • Collision Investigations Unit 
  • Marine, Dive and Trails Unit
  • Safer Roads Ottawa

Check out our road safety playlist on YouTube.

Community Safety and Crime Prevention
    • Community Police Centres
    • Community Safety and Well-Being
      • Mental Health
      • Operation Access
      • Connect Protect
    • Crime Map
    • Crime Prevention
      • Agent Status
      • Bike Registration
      • Child Print
      • Crime Free Multi-Housing
      • Neighbourhood Watch
      • Operation Identification
      • Safeguard Your Home
      • Theft
        • Vehicle Theft
    • Projects and Publications
    • Scams and Fraud
    • Traffic and Road Safety
      • Impaired Driving
      • Leave the Phone Alone
      • Traffic Complaint
    • Water and Boating Safety

Contact Us

Subscribe To Page Updates

Ottawa Police Service footer logo

Ottawa Police Service

P.O. Box 9634 Station T,
Ottawa, ON K1G 6H5

Phone: 613-236-1222 (non-emergency)
TTY: 613-232-1123
Service for the deaf, deafened and hard of hearing.

  • Resources

    • Accessibility
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
    • Website Feedback

Stay Connected

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

© 2023 Ottawa Police Service

By GHD Digital

Browser Compatibility Notification

It appears you are trying to access this site using an outdated browser. As a result, parts of the site may not function properly for you. We recommend updating your browser to its most recent version at your earliest convenience.