Downtown video cams could be monitored 24-7

Provisional budget includes proposal for full-time surveillance at cost of $30,000

Surveillance cameras in downtown Kelowna were monitored around the clock for the first time this past summer.

Having someone watch the video feed from the cameras helped police deal immediately with 425 instances of crime, mischief, loitering and vandalism, city officials say.

A $30,000 proposal in the 2018 city budget is to make live monitoring of the security cameras the norm rather than the exception.

“The deliverable is a safer city through proactive response to security concerns related to intoxication, drug use, theft, confrontational/aggressive behaviours from transients, homeless, youth and individuals known to law enforcement,” states the CCTV security monitoring proposal included in the budget.

However, the item is ranked only as a Priority 2 request, which means it will not be included in next year’s spending plan, or even discussed, unless specifically asked for and agreed upon by city councillors during Thursday’s budget deliberations.

Policing costs account for 32 per cent of the $134.5 million in taxes the city expects to collect in 2018. Four new RCMP officers are to be hired, bringing the Kelowna detachment’s strength up to 177, and 12 more firefighters will be added, to staff a new Glenmore fire hall.

“Fire and police services are ranked in the top five priorities for investments by our residents,” city manager Ron Mattiussi writes in the budget document. “Historically, our budgets have put safety at the forefront, and this year is no different.

“The proposed addition of 16 front-line personnel highlights this year’s necessary investments to keep our city safe,” Mattiussi writes.

Aside from the extra $675,000 to hire four more police officers, the budget also proposes spending on other security-related initiatives:

— $375,000 to hire four data processors to work out of the police station.

— $5,000 for two new mountain bikes used by police and bylaw officers.

— $3,000 for eight small cameras that bylaw officers can wear on their uniform, or affix to a bike or dashboard of a vehicle, to record offences and interactions with members of the public.

In a recent IPSOS-REID survey of citizen views, paid for by the city, 90 per cent of respondents described Kelowna as a safe city. But 20 per cent said they did not believe downtown was safe.

In 2001, in a move that drew criticism from then federal privacy commissioner George Radwanski, the City of Kelowna installed its first police surveillance camera in downtown Kelowna.

Constant recording of images from the cameras amounted to “an example of contempt for the rights of Canadians,” Radwanski said in February 2002.

In response, the Kelowna RCMP said the cameras operated “within the law and with the full support of our community.”

Cameras now observe activity in many downtown locations, such as Stuart Park, Kasugai Park, the Queensway transit exchange and city-owned parkades.

But the live feed from the cameras was not always monitored. In July and August, in a move that was not publicized by the city, a trial program was launched to have the cameras monitored 24-7.

The so-called Rapid Response CoOrdination pilot program led to 425 instances in which police were immediately dispatched to investigate something suspicious noticed by monitors watching the feed from the surveillance cameras.

“By all accounts, the pilot was very successful, particularly the Rapid Response component,” the city budget document states.