A speed camera on Rockcliffe Boulevard near Jane Street and St. Clair Avenue is the latest one to be damaged in Toronto.
Toronto police confirmed the camera has been cut down and the incident is under investigation. No suspect information has been released.
It’s the latest in a long string of incidents where speed cameras have been damaged in the last year.
The camera at Parkside Drive has been the number one target of vandals. It’s been cut down six times, starting in 2024. The latest incident happened at the beginning of July, a week after a security camera had been installed to monitor the speed camera.
Another five speed cameras were damaged in just one week back in June.
The City of Toronto said that it does not own the cameras, which are a vendor-provided service, and their repair or replacement doesn’t ding taxpayers.
When a camera is vandalized, “it is the vendor’s responsibility to replace or fix the devices within a maximum of 30 days and report serious incidents of vandalism to Toronto Police Services,” a city spokesperson told CityNews.
“There is no cost to the city (and) no additional taxpayer dollars are spent each time an ASE device is damaged, as this is built into the contract with the vendor.”
A recent survey found that automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras are changing driver habits — even as ticket numbers continue to rise.
