---
title: "Court rules Ottawa police fingerprint retention policy unreasonable"
description: "Ontario's Divisional Court has overturned an Ottawa Police Service decision to deny a woman's request to have her fingerprint and photo records destroyed after charges against her were withdrawn."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/news/fingerprint-records-court-ruling-2026-10-31"
last_updated: "2026-10-31T17:48:07.928Z"
---

Ontario's Divisional Court has ruled that Ottawa Police Service's policy for denying requests to destroy fingerprint and photo records was unreasonable, the Ottawa Citizen reported on October 30.

The court overturned an OPS decision that denied a request to destroy biometric records after criminal charges against the person were withdrawn. According to the Ottawa Citizen, the court found that OPS had been automatically denying requests for certain categories of offences without looking at individual circumstances, and ordered the service to reconsider each such request on its own terms.

## What the court decided

The Divisional Court did not order the fingerprint and photo records destroyed. Instead, it directed OPS to reassess the request in line with the court's reasoning.

The Ottawa Citizen reported that the court found people who have not been convicted retain privacy rights to their fingerprints and photographs. Police may keep biometric data, but only in exceptional circumstances tied to whether the data is genuinely needed, the ruling said.

The case arose after a woman was arrested in January 2024 and charged with a number of assault-related offences. The charges were withdrawn in August 2024 when she entered a peace bond. After the 12-month bond expired without incident, she asked OPS to destroy her fingerprint and photo records. OPS denied the request in September 2025 and rejected a follow-up request for reconsideration the following month.

## Why the policy was found unreasonable

The Ottawa Citizen reported that the court took issue with OPS applying a blanket denial for requests involving certain categories of offences. The ruling said that approach was unreasonable because it did not allow for individual assessment of whether there was a legitimate reason to keep a specific person's biometric data.

The service is now required to review such requests individually, weighing the circumstances of each case.

## What this means for Ottawa residents

Anyone in Ottawa who was arrested, had their charges withdrawn, and was then denied a request to have their fingerprint or photo records destroyed may be affected by this ruling. OPS must now individually assess those requests rather than apply an automatic refusal.

People in this situation can contact Ottawa Police Service at ottawapolice.ca to ask about the records request process following this court decision.

The ruling was issued on October 30, 2026. Follow the [Ottawa election news](/on/ottawa-2026/news) for further developments.

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