Prosecution Services (Provincial Offences)

Home Regional Government Court and Traffic Tickets (Provincial Offences)Prosecution Services (Provincial Offences)

Welcome to Prosecution Services, located on the main floor at 605 Rossland Road East in Whitby.

For Zoom connection details and other information regarding court appearances at the Durham Region Provincial Offences Court, please visit the Court Appearances page for more information.

Prosecution Services deals with charges under the Provincial Offences Act. These charges are issued by the Durham Regional Police (DRPS), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and smaller municipal agencies, like Durham Health.

We are responsible for accepting disclosure requests and change of date requests for the charges we deal with.

We are not responsible for giving legal advice.

Notice of transfer in Prosecution Services

Whitby, Ontario – Part III and Part IX prosecutions under the Provincial Offences Act are being transferred to The Regional Municipality of Durham Prosecution Services from the Province of Ontario. This is a transfer of duties.

What: Under the Provincial Offences Act, Part III prosecutions proceed by way of summons and require the accused or their representative to appear in court. Part IX prosecutions deal with Orders on Application Under Statutes, which is a proceeding commenced by way of a statement. Durham Region Prosecution Services and the Durham Crown Attorney’s office will be working closely to ensure a successful transition of duties.

When: This transfer of duties from the Province of Ontario to The Regional Municipality of Durham will take effect September 6, 2022.

Where: The Regional Municipality of Durham Prosecution Services is located at 605 Rossland Road East, Whitby, Ontario L1N 6A3.

Note: The transfer will not interrupt court operations. All prosecution services may be viewed and accessed at durham.ca/ProsecutionServices.

Part III Pre-Trial Booking Link

To book a meeting with a prosecutor to discuss a Part III matter, please use the link below.

https://www.durham.ca/Pretrial/

Option 1: Pay your ticket

For information on how to pay your ticket, please visit www.paytickets.ca.

Option 2: Meeting with a prosecutor for an Early Resolution

For information on how to select Option 2, please visit www.ontario.ca/ticketsandfines. Once Option 2 is selected, you will receive a notice in the mail which will have a date and time to meet with the prosecutor.

Option 3: Trial

For information on how to select Option 3 - a not guilty plea, please visit the Provincial Offences Court Office.

For more information regarding the trial process, please review the Guide for Defendants.

How do I get a copy of my disclosure (a copy of the officer's notes)?

A copy of the officer’s notes and evidence is called disclosure. You are entitled to your disclosure, free of charge and you can request it online by completing a Disclosure Request Form.

Speed Measuring Device Manuals

If you have received a speeding ticket from a police officer, where a speed measuring device was used, please see the list below to access the user manual:

Durham Region’s website has been designed with accessibility in mind. We are working towards having the content on our website meet compliance of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) Level AA. Documents received from external organizations may not be in an accessible format. If these documents are needed in an accessible format, please call 905-668-3130.

Durham Vision Zero

Because the Region of Durham is committed to making our roads safer, it has launched Durham Vison Zero which uses various tools to assist our community and reduce the risk of deaths on our roadways. For more information you can visit the Durham Vision Zero website.

Automatic Speed Enforcement and approved locations

Automatic Speed Enforcement (ASE) is an automated system that uses cameras to capture images and measures the speed of a motor vehicle that is traveling over the posted speed limit.

A Provincial Offences Officer will review the images captured, and issue a ticket to the owner of the motor vehicle - not the driver. If convicted, the only penalty is a fine - no demerit points or record of conviction will be applied to the owner's driving record.

Upon receiving an Automatic Speed Enforcement ticket, you will have three options on how to proceed. Option 1: Pay the ticket, Option 2: Early Resolution, and Option 3: Trial.

For more information regarding locations of the cameras, please visit the Automated Speed Enforcement page.

Red-light Cameras

The Red-light Camera is a system used to photograph motor vehicles that fail to stop when facing a red traffic light at an intersection. The camera captures two photos. The first, before the vehicle enters the intersection and the second, after the vehicle has crossed the stop line. The third image provided is an enlargement of the licence plate from one of the photos taken.

A Provincial Offences Officer will review the photos and issue a ticket to the owner of the motor vehicle - not the driver. If convicted, the only penalty is a fine - no demerit points or record of conviction will be applied to the owner's driving record.

Upon receiving a Red-light Camera ticket, you will have three options on how to proceed. Option 1: Pay the ticket, Option 2: Early Resolution, and Option 3: Trial.

For more information regarding locations, please visit the Red-light Camera page.

Distracted Driving and cellphones

Holding or using a hand-held communication device, such as a cell phone and smart devices, while driving on a highway is distracted driving. Whether you are talking, texting, mapping your route, emailing, checking the time, browsing or selecting a playlist, it is all distracted driving.

Picking it up off your car floor or picking it up when stopped at a red light or stop sign is not allowed.

You are allowed to use your phone to call 911 in the event of an emergency.

Know the facts

You are 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision if you text while driving and four times more likely if you talk on a cellphone (hand-held or hands-free) while driving.₁
A distracted driver may fail to see up to 50 per cent of the available information in the driving environment. You may look but not actually “see” what is happening.₂
In one study, nearly 80 per cent of collisions and 65 per cent of near-collisions involved some form of driver inattention up to three seconds prior to the event.₃

_{1. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2009}

_{2. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2005}

_{3. TIRF http://www.yndrc.tirf.ca/gdl/comparison_tables.php}

Penalties for distracted driving

Drivers with A to G licence

For your first conviction:

A minimum fine of $500 up to $1,000
Three demerit points
A three-day day driver’s licence suspension

For your second conviction:

A minimum fine of $500 up to $2,000
Six demerit points
A seven-day driver’s licence suspension

For any further convictions:

A minimum fine of $500 up to $3,000
Six demerit points
A thirty-day driver's licence suspension

Novice drivers

If you hold a G1, G2, M1 or M2 licence and are convicted of distracted driving, you’ll face the same escalating fines as drivers with A to G licences, but you won’t receive any demerit points.

Instead of demerit points you’ll face:

A 30-day licence suspension for a first conviction.
A 90-day licence suspension for a second conviction.
Cancellation of your licence.

For more information, please visit the Ministry of Transportation website.

Resources

Demerit points

Demerit points are attached to a conviction registered against your driving record. Different types of charges carry different amount of demerit points. The court cannot waive demerit points, they are controlled and maintained by the Ministry of Transportation. The prosecutor may agree to having you plead guilty to another charge that carries less demerit points.

Certification of portable scales

Certification of calibration for portable scales for the year 2023

Certification of calibration for portable scales for the year 2021

Certification of calibration for portable scales for the year 2020

Certification of calibration for portable scales for the year 2019

What is case law?

Case law refers to decisions in law that come from a higher level of court, made by a Judge. These decisions are binding on lower courts. Case law is important as it creates legal principles that can be applied to other cases with similar facts. To access case law, please visit www.canlii.org.

Examples of common case law in Provincial Offences

Legal Advice

Prosecution Services cannot provide legal advice. If you wish to speak to a paralegal student you can visit the Durham Community Legal Clinic website.