Automated Speed Enforcement: What’s Really Involved And What Others Can Learn
If you’ve heard more stories about speed-camera tickets around the dinner table lately, you’re not alone. Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) is one of those topics that sparks strong opinions, fairness, safety, revenue, you name it. Underneath the noise, though, there’s a practical, very municipal story about service design, backlogs, and how to make a high-volume enforcement program work for residents and staff.
That’s where our work comes in.
The real problem we were trying to solve
For years, tickets from things like parking, red-light cameras, and speeding ran through the Provincial Offences Act (POA) courts. Those courts handle everything from bylaw matters to serious offenses, so the volume is massive, resulting in long delays, frustrated residents, and municipal teams spending too much time chasing paper.
Ontario’s Administrative Penalty System (APS) was introduced to address this for ticket types that don’t need a judge. In an APS model, people can request a quick “screening” with trained municipal staff, escalate to an independent hearing officer if needed, and get a timely decision. It’s faster, more transparent, and frankly, more humane for the volume of cases municipalities manage every year.
Where Perry Group fits
Our work in this space started with broader service reviews and digital strategies (think Region of Waterloo, City of Cambridge) and evolved into very hands-on support for building an end-to-end model. In Hamilton, for example, we were asked to help bring three streams parking, red-light cameras, and ASE into one coordinated APS program.
We began by mapping the current state in detail. When you lay it all out, there can be more than a hundred tiny steps from “ticket issued” to “case closed” touchpoints across different departments, systems, and vendors. From there, we designed the future state with the teams who actually do the work every day. The goals were simple:
● Pull all ticket types into a single program under APS.
● Move interactions online wherever possible (request a screening, book a hearing, upload information, see the decision, pay).
● Reduce re-keying and email back-and-forth by integrating with the systems that already exist, including the Joint Processing Centre (which validates camera images and issues tickets) and the Ministry of Transportation (for plate-denial when fines are unpaid).
● Keep in-person and phone support for people who need it accessibility matters.
In practical terms, that means: if you get a ticket, you can enter your number online, see the evidence, decide whether to pay, or ask for a screening all without phoning three different counters. Decisions are sent digitally. If you still disagree, you can request a hearing, also online. The whole thing is trackable, auditable, and 24/7.
Does it work?
Short answer: yes especially when you make the evidence easy to see and the steps easy to follow. Putting imagery and details in front of residents reduces unnecessary challenges. Moving screening/hearing requests online cuts thousands of phone minutes. And having one place to manage different ticket types (parking, red-light, ASE) simplifies everything for both residents and staff.
There’s also the safety piece. Most municipalities are working toward Vision Zero goals fewer collisions, safer school zones, calmer streets. The data we’ve seen shows ticket volumes typically drop over time as drivers adjust. That’s the point.
“But policies are changing…”
True. Policy directions around ASE can shift, and programs may evolve. The good news is the model we help build an integrated APS program with online self-service still strengthens the parts that remain, like parking and red-light enforcement. Even if the mix changes, the resident experience and the back-office efficiency you’ve set up continue to pay off.
What other municipalities can take from this
If you’re thinking about ASE or tuning your broader enforcement program, a few lessons:
Design the program, not just the camera locations. The resident journey (from ticket to decision) will make or break your call volumes and staff workload.
Bring it under one roof. Parking, red-light, ASE treat them as one APS program with common standards, a common portal, and shared reporting.
Do the agreements early. The partnerships with the JPC, MAG, and MTO are essential. Start the paperwork while you’re mapping the process.
Go online but keep it human. Self-service should be the default; assisted service should be easy. Both matter.
Measure what matters. Track turnaround times, screening volumes, hearing outcomes, and call deflection. Use that data to adjust
At the end of the day, ASE isn’t just about cameras. It’s about building a fair, timely, and accessible way for residents to resolve minor offenses and giving municipal teams a model that can actually keep up with demand. If you’re working through this and want a sounding board, we’re always happy to share what’s worked (and what to avoid) from the trenches.