City of Vancouver to consider giving police access to traffic cameras

Vancouver council voted Wednesday to consider giving the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) access to the city's traffic camera network.

The plan, put forth by Coun. Brian Montague, a former VPD spokesperson, and Coun. Peter Meiszner aims to help police investigate crime and respond to incidents faster.

"Access to city traffic cameras will provide real-time visual information to help police in managing resources when responding," Montague said. 

Wednesday's vote is the first step in giving police access to live and historical footage from Vancouver's 221 traffic cameras on an as-needed basis, while responding to events including in-progress crimes, missing persons reports and natural disasters. 

While advocates for the the plan say it would help police manage their resources and keep people safe, critics say it could violate residents' Charter rights, and their right to privacy.

VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said police welcome the initiative and will work with city staff and the privacy commissioner to develop practices governing the use of any video. 

"Cameras are useful tools that could assist police in a variety of ways, such as missing persons investigations, collision investigations and serious criminal matters," Addison said in an email.

At present, police do not have access to Vancouver's traffic camera network, and its live feed is not recorded and stored for investigations.

Council has debated giving police access to CCTV cameras before. Two years ago, the city voted against installing surveillance cameras across the city.

Other nearby cities already share traffic camera footage with police. In Surrey, police used city surveillance footage in their investigation into the death of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.

The Toronto Police Service can also access cameras — but the force said it has to contact the city each time it needs to access footage, Const. Shannon Eames told CBC News in an email.

On Wednesday, Coun. Pete Fry raised concerns the motion might infringe on residents' privacy, and would be used to monitor people when they assemble in public. 

"We don't actually record [traffic camera] footage and I think it would make sense for us to record it," he told The Early Edition on Thursday. "However, I think that if we're going to release it to the police, it should be with a warrant, not just on request."

The motion was ultimately changed so city staff would also look into how the plan affected residents' rights. It passed with Fry voting against it. 

City staff are now scheduled to report the financial, legal and operational implications of the plan by the first quarter of 2025.

Right to privacy

Aislin Jackson with the B.C. Civil Liberties Association said giving police access to traffic cameras could violate residents' rights against unreasonable search or seizure.

Privacy gives people the security to practice freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly without fear of retribution from the state, they added. 

"What we're contemplating here is collecting a massive amount of information about the daily activities of not just drivers, but also any pedestrians who would be caught by these cameras, people on bicycles," Jackson said. 

A system that requires police to get a judge's permission before accessing footage, as with search warrants, would infringe upon residents' rights less, they added. 

"If we don't have the sphere of private life that's free from the intrusion of the state — to be able to experiment, to look silly, to be intimate with our friends and family — then we're not able to live full lives," Jackson said.