More security cameras coming

More coverage is needed downtown, city police inspector says

There could be more security cameras downtown soon, if police have their way – and maybe cameras at collision-prone intersections, too.

City police officers have been speaking with the Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) about installing more cameras, the police services board heard at a meeting Tuesday night.

Insp. Dan Smith told the police board he’s been speaking with the DBIA about it.

Although the DBIA has a grant program that helps merchants pay for exterior security cameras, Smith said more coverage would be better.

He said about 54 merchants have cameras, and that’s not counting private ones belonging to big downtown landlords. But Smith said he’d like to see even more.

“Cameras are the instruments of truth – they save hundreds of hours of investigative work,” he said.

Police Chief Murray Rodd said the DBIA is making an effort with its grant program, “but they’re doing it on a piecemeal basis.”

Rodd said he’d like to see “more of a co-ordinated effort” – one that would also include cameras watching over dangerous intersections.

But those would be up to the city to install, and Mayor Daryl Bennett – who has just returned to the police board – said those cameras are pricey.

“We’re still dealing with it,” he said, adding that city councillors will be discussing the idea early in 2018.

Also on the police services board agenda Tuesday night:

Diversity on the police force

A new report from Rodd is expected at a board meeting on Jan. 9 about minorities on the police force.

The board is interested in a report outlining the number of women, visible minorities and aboriginal people are city police officers – and how police might go about recruiting more of them to the force.

New legislation emphasizes the need for police to reflect the populations they serve, according to a new report released to the police board Tuesday.

The report states that 3,275 people living in the city identify as aboriginal, according to Census data; that’s 4.21 per cent of the population.

There are also 1,315 South Asian citizens in Peterborough, 815 Chinese citizens and 795 black citizens.

Yet the report doesn’t say how many minorities are Peterborough Police officers, and it doesn’t outline any particular strategy for recruitment.

Ken East, a police board member, said that’s what he’s looking for.

“One only needs to Google this issue to see it’s extremely current – and being addressed by police forces across the country,” he said.

Space needs

Mayor Daryl Bennett and executive assistant to the police board Niquel Pritchard Pataki were appointed to a new steering committee that will examine the increasingly crowded police headquarters on Water St. and assess the need for more space.

Pritchard Pataki said there will eventually be about a dozen members on the committee, including a city councillor, several city staff members and police officers.

The idea is to take a look at how the building is becoming cramped and determines the space needs for the force.

The committee will begin meeting in January.