Test surveillance cameras in Winnipeg, report to recommend

Winnipeggers could start seeing surveillance cameras on city streets as early as 2009, city councillors heard at a city committee meeting Monday.

Police Supt. Gord Schumacher, who has been studying the feasibility of cameras monitoring Winnipeg streets for several months, updated the city's protection and community services committee on his progress.

A report to city council next month will recommend the city conduct a pilot project with closed-circuit cameras, he said.

Schumacher said other cities have had mixed results in terms of the cameras' effectiveness in reducing crime, but they have been proven to make the public feel safer.

The city must still deal with several issues, including how to pay for the cameras. Toronto, which recently set up a similar pilot project, spent $2 million on 22 cameras, not including costs related to monitoring or associated police time.

Coun. Gord Steeves, who heads the committee, said he would like to see business groups pick up the tab in business areas — but in residential neighbourhoods, the cost could be covered by the city.

If approved, the first cameras could be on Winnipeg streets in use by 2009, Schumacher said.

Survey suggests Spence support for cameras

People living in the Spence area in downtown Winnipeg have signalled they want surveillance cameras installed in their neighbourhood, according to the head of the neighbourhood group's safety committee.

Ninety-three  per cent of people who responded to a survey on the matter supported the idea of installing cameras along Ellice and Sargent avenues, says Mike Backlund, head of the Spence Neighbourhood Association's safety committee.

Backlund flips through some of the comments about the cameras received through the survey: "The sooner the better; You can use my house for the cameras; Law-abiding citizens need not fear cameras."

He received more than 100 responses after about 1,200 surveys were distributed in a community newsletter — the highest return rate for any survey the group has conducted, Backlund said. About 3,000 people live in 1,650 households in the neighbourhood, according to Statistics Canada.

"People in the neighbourhood know they can't have a policeman on every corner," he said. "But the cameras can help solve the crimes that are happening on a daily basis."

More study needed: association head

But the neighbourhood association is not rushing into anything; its president, Gerry Berard, worries the survey was flawed, and he's not convinced the results reflect the community.

"We need time to really look at it," he said. "There's always going to be mixed feelings from everyone within the community, and it is better to go slow on new items that can be controversial."

John Unger, a local resident and business owner, said the neighbourhood can't afford to spend a lot of time studying the matter. Crime is a serious problem in the neighbourhood, he said, and anything that could solve it should be tried now. 

"It was, perhaps, a basic survey, but I think it tells the story," said Unger, who supported the installation of surveillance cameras when he filled out the survey. "You can study it to death but you'll come up with the same answer."

Backlund presented the results to the city's protection and community services committee on Monday.

Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz has previously expressed support for police use of surveillance cameras in the city.