New cameras that read licence plates automatically are now watching two of Waterloo’s busiest roads. The Waterloo Regional Police Service switched on the city’s first fixed CCTV units with automated licence plate readers on June 23, 2026, at King Street North and Conestogo Road, and King Street North and University Avenue West.
The technology scans plates and instantly checks them against provincial and national police databases. If it spots a stolen car, a suspended driver, or a vehicle linked to a missing person or active investigation, the system flags it right away so officers can respond. “The ALPR technology automatically scans licence plates and can alert officers to vehicles associated with active investigations or those reported as stolen,” police said.
These Waterloo cameras are the first phase of a wider rollout. Police plan to put up 52 cameras at 10 sites across the region, with Kitchener, Cambridge, and North Dumfries getting their own units later. Wilmot Township turned down the chance to host cameras on its property. The locations are picked by the service’s Crime Analysis Unit after looking at three years of crime data and calls for service, and all cameras are clearly marked with signs.
The program is paid for through Ontario’s Guns, Gangs, and Violence Reduction Strategy, with funding from the Ministry of the Solicitor General. It builds on the mobile licence plate readers that most WRPS cruisers have carried since 2022—those in-car units already scan thousands of plates an hour.
Any video that isn’t needed for an investigation gets automatically deleted after about 30 days. Police worked with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario on a privacy impact review, and the system does not use facial recognition.
Waterloo Region has dealt with some of the highest crime severity numbers in Ontario, although violent crime edged down 1.75 percent and non-violent crime fell 5.7 percent between 2023 and 2024. Police say the new fixed cameras give them another tool to help turn those numbers lower while flagging stolen vehicles faster.
