Photo radar and red light cameras catch dozens of Ottawa police officers so far this year

A photo radar camera in Ottawa. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa's photo radar and red light cameras have caught dozens of Ottawa police officers so far this year.

Statistics provided to the Ottawa Police Services Board show there have been 39 internal complaints about red light camera infractions and 53 internal complaints about automated speed enforcement camera tickets involving police officers in the first six months of the year.

In all of 2022, there were 79 red light camera infractions and 189 complaints related to photo radar camera tickets involving police officers.

The Ottawa Police Services Board receives quarterly updates on the Complaints Report under the Police Services Act. The red light camera and automated speed enforcement infractions are listed as 'Internal Complaints', which are initiated at the discretion of the Ottawa Police Chief for allegations of officer misconduct or non-compliance and may also include driving-related conduct matters.

"The key driver of the increase in Driving Related Internal Complaints is attributed to the number of automated speed enforcement and red-light camera infractions, which continue to rise with the implementation of more cameras throughout the city," staff say.

Any chief or public complaints can be finalized as substantiated or unsubstantiated. Both public and internal complaints about Ottawa Police Service members can be resolved by informal resolution, informal discipline or formal discipline, according to the circumstances and seriousness of the substantiated misconduct, the report says.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Monday's Ottawa Police Services Board meeting, police chief Eric Stubbs said any officer who is ticketed is responsible for paying the fine if warranted, but the police service examines the circumstances around the infraction.

"Every time an infraction, be it red light or speeding, comes to our office, we do have a triage sort of process of understanding what the member was doing at the time," Stubbs said, explaining that some calls may require more urgency than others. "We do try to determine what they're doing at the time of the infraction and then a determination is made on what path to go from that conclusion."

The report notes red light cameras, automated speed enforcement cameras and motor vehicle collisions make up most internal complaint investigations in the Ottawa Police Service.

"In 2021, the OPS updated its process to deal with driving-related complaints including an updated progressive discipline schedule," the report says.

Staff say the process to deal with camera infractions involves progressive discipline when the threshold for exemption under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act are not met.

The report shows there were 325 public and internal complaints about officers in the first six months of 2022. There were 50 internal complaints about motor-vehicle collisions involving officers.

Ottawa's automated speed enforcement cameras in community safety zones issued 127,939 speeding tickets in 2022. A total of 45,723 tickets were issued to drivers by red light cameras at Ottawa intersections in 2022.