Vancouver considers cameras to monitor downtown partiers

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan says he's willing to look at a proposal to install surveillance cameras to crack down on unruly bar-goers on Granville Street in the entertainment district.

Police went public with their concerns earlier in the week, saying the district was out of control on weekends. They saidthey would like cameras as part of theirefforts to curb thehordes of drunks whofight, vomit and urinatealong the three-block strip between Robson and Davie streets.

"The situation there is unacceptable," said the mayor, adding that he's not ruling out anything that might help police restore public order, including cameras.

"When you're weighing the options of civil liberties versus crime and safety, many citizens are willing in certain circumstances to lean toward crime and safety, and we need to have that discussion publicly in Vancouver."

Opposition Counc. David Cadman of the Coalitionof Progressive Electors (COPE)agrees there needs to be a public debate about the cameras, but said there are other concerns that need to be addressed.

"One of things I'd like to identify is to what extent when people are stopped and charged, are they coming from outside our city? In other words, are we creating a magnet here that draws people into the city that then we're having to police?"

The bar zone has more than 5,000 licensed liquor seats in bars and clubs.

But Cadman doesn't think concentrating so many bars along the same street was mistake. He said it helps keep the noise down in residential neighbourhoods.

The previous city council had extended bar hours in the entertainment district, allowing bars to stay open until 4 a.m.