Ontario Increasing Investment in Video Surveillance Systems

Ministry of the Solicitor General

Funding will Provide Police Forces with More Tools to Prevent and Fight Crime

Cobourg, ON – Nov 27, 2020

The Ontario government is investing $1.6 million in Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) systems to help 18 police services across the province better detect, investigate and prevent criminal activity. Funding through the new Ontario CCTV Grant will help police services and their municipal partners install new or additional surveillance cameras in areas where gun and gang violence and other criminal activity are most prevalent.

“By strengthening CCTV surveillance systems across the province, Ontario’s police services will be better equipped to prevent criminal activity, identify and apprehend offenders,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “This expansion will support the local fight against guns and gangs while deterring other crimes such as drug and human trafficking, street racing and stunt driving. The use of CCTV cameras will also help hold criminals accountable by providing important visual evidence to support investigations and the prosecution process.”

The Ontario CCTV Grant, which was announced in August 2020, is providing police services with a total of $6 million over three years to expand CCTV systems in their communities and improve public safety.

The CCTV grant builds on the province’s approximate $106 million investment to combat gun and gang violence, with the support of the federal government, through Ontario’s Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy.

“Improving the technology and information available to Ontario’s frontline police is critical to deterring unlawful activity and holding offenders accountable in our communities,” said Minister Jones. “Ontarians need to feel safe in their homes and their businesses without fear of crime as communities recover from the impacts of COVID-19.”

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