Summary
Today, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones announced that our 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, which was announced in August 2020, 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 CCTV grant also 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.
Key Messages
- Criminals are always finding new ways of covering their tracks, but our government is determined to ensure municipalities and police services have the tools and resources they need to detect criminal activity and keep Ontarians safe.
- We are investing approximately $1.6 million in 2020-21 through the Ontario CCTV Grant, a new program to expand the coverage of closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, a key tool in the fight against guns and gangs and other criminal activity.
- In light of recent episodes of violence, it’s absolutely critical we give police the tools and resources they need to keep people safe and ensure businesses and communities can recover from the impacts of COVID-19 without fear of crime.
- Our frontline police, the heroes we rely on to bring criminals to justice, tell us that CCTV technology works and is one of the best tools we have to gain critical advantage over criminal organizations. Gang members are less likely to commit a crime if they are at a great risk of being caught. And video footage of crimes committed will help with investigations, identify suspects, and support prosecutions to keep criminals off our streets.
- Our government is confident this investment will help municipalities expand their CCTV capacity and ramp up the local fight against crime.
News Links
News Release (EN): https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/59387/ontario-increasing-investment-in-video-surveillance-systems
News Release (FR): https://news.ontario.ca/fr/release/59389/lontario-intensifie-ses-investissements-dans-des-systemes-de-videosurveillance