Police on Six Nations of the Grand River are getting $642,612 in provincial funding to install computers in their cruisers.
The province says the funding is part of a $6-million initiative to help First Nations police services across Ontario purchase technology. The funding will be spent on mobile workstations, body cameras and automated license plate readers.
A total of nine First Nations police services and 18 First Nations communities who have policing administered by the OPP will receive the funding.
Six Nations Police Chief Darren Montour thanked Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma for “spearheading this initiative,
“His determination and persistence enabled all First Nations police services in Ontario to obtain much-needed technological funding, which will make all of our communities safer.”
Bouma said efforts to secure the funding started after he was first elected MPP in 2018 and he got the chance to spend a shift riding along with a Six Nations police officer.
“When I got into the cruiser, the first thing I asked was, ‘Where is the computer?’” Bouma said.
“The second question I asked was, ‘Where is the license plate reader?’ I was told by the officer that they work with what they had and that all communication was verbal.”
Bouma then began pressing for funding to enable Six Nations police to modernize their cruisers.
“From that ride-along to today’s announcement, we have come a long way to help modernize and equip Six Nations police,” he said.
Mobile workstations in cruisers enable officers to use various databases, including the Canadian Police Information Centre, which provides information about crimes and criminals and is managed by the RCMP.
Automated license plate readers allow officer to quickly compare plate numbers to a Ministry of Transportation database with vehicle and vehicle owner information.
“This initiative will provide police officers and personnel with the tools they need to fight crime effectively and efficiently while in the field and connected to a local command network,” Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said in a statement.
Quick Facts
Police services in First Nations communities will use $6 million in provincial funding to undertake modernization work, including:
• Mobile workstations — an information technology suite of equipment embedded within a police vehicle for mobile/remote access to records management system databases, the Canadian Police Information Centre, and police services’ internal servers.
• Infrared technologies — thermal imaging cameras are an investigative tool to assist in suspect apprehension, evidence gathering and search and rescue operations by detecting heat radiation of persons or objects;
• Live scan machines — support the process of capturing fingerprints electronically and can be shared immediately with police services across the country, including the RCMP;
• Body-worn cameras — devices that record interactions between community members (eg, the public, suspects, and victims) and law enforcement officers;
• In-car cameras: capable of recording all interactions between police and the public, including traffic stops and rear seat prisoner transportation;
• Automated license plate readers — a system of cameras and supporting software that captures license plate information and immediately compares plate numbers to a Ministry of Transportation database with vehicle and vehicle owner information.