Businesses turn to cameras in bid to reduce downtown Fredericton crime
5 closed-circuit cameras to be installed in crime-prone areas
Big business is watching you — at least if you're trying to damage or steal its property.
Fredericton's downtown business association is using $60,000 collected from its members to purchase five security cameras that will be installed downtown, said Bruce McCormack, general manager of Downtown Fredericton Inc.
"Obviously, not everybody that comes into the downtown are A-1 citizens, so you know if there is something that happens in the downtown either, you know something stolen or a break-in or whatever... those cameras just another tool that can be used to, you know, to find out actually what's happened."
McCormack said the cameras are being purchased and installed in partnership with the City of Fredericton and the Fredericton Police Force.
WATCH | Downtown businesses turn to surveillance cameras to stop crime
On Monday councillors approved the purchase of 12 of its own new surveillance cameras at a cost of about $57,000.
In a Fredericton city staff report, seven of the cameras will be "community cameras," used for monitoring traffic, pedestrian routes and river levels.
The other five are being referred to as "public safety cameras," which will bring the total installed up to 10 with the contribution by Downtown Fredericton Inc.
"Public safety cameras will not be actively monitored, only reviewed for evidence gathering purposes, if required," the city report says, adding that footage will only be stored for 14 days.
"Cameras will not be used for targeted offences and will not employ licence plate or facial recognition technology."
The cameras will not record audio, and they will all be installed in public places along with "overt signage."
"The goal is to support a safe, inclusive, and inviting community with a public safety lens," the report says.
McCormack said his organization is currently working with police to decide where the cameras should go, adding that once they're installed, access to the footage would be reserved for the police.
Seeking relief from vandalism
Downtown businesses are collectively spending about $100,000 a year cleaning up graffiti and fixing vandalized property, said Mike Babineau, president of Downtown Fredericton Inc., and owner of multiple downtown businesses.
"And we're not even talking... about the issue of, you know, the drugs and and some of the issues that are happening on that side of things," Babineau said.
"So I think it's well needed and I think the business community is welcoming it and hoping to curb some of these issues that are going on downtown."
Babineau said other strategies businesses are looking at include putting more lights in alleyways to make less visible parts of the city safer.
"We do have a growing population in the downtown and we want everyone to feel welcome coming to the businesses, you know, especially after dark."
A valuable investigative tool, police say
The Fredericton Police Force has been considering creating a network of cameras after watching the City of Charlottetown embark on the same project in 2017, said Fredericton Deputy Chief Martin Gaudet.
"The property crimes of vandalism, they're more than a nuisance — they're upsetting, they're frustrating, they can be expensive for the individual," Gaudet said. "And we thought, 'Well, could this public safety community camera system be of some help in those particular areas?'"
Gaudet said there used to be a security camera in the Tannery, which was monitored by 911 dispatchers, but it went offline a few years ago once it got too old.
He said that area could benefit from one of the five cameras, adding he'd be open to partnering with more businesses across the city to create a bigger network of them.
"You can't have a camera everywhere, but if you start placing a grid in your jurisdiction where there are cameras where we could potentially have investigation leads, well that would be fantastic," he said.
"I think it's a good investigative tool to have, so that's what we're going to try, to see if it works. We've done some public engagement and there's been no pushback or backlash."
Weighing crime reduction vs. privacy rights
Considering how the footage will be used and stored, it appears the city gave some thought to privacy concerns, said Brenda McPhail, director of the privacy, technology and surveillance program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
However, she questioned whether the cameras will deter crime, and said the problems around crime in the city need to be grave enough to justify the use of mass surveillance.
"New Brunswick has a privacy law that says for information — personal information — to be collected from members of the public, the collection needs to be necessary," McPhail said.
"So then the question is, 'Is it necessary to have these cameras and what's the evidence that's been put forward to show that it's really necessary, other than just saying cameras are good for security?'"
Wayne McKay, a professor emeritus at Dalhousie University's law school, said technology is a double-edged sword in that it can help solve crimes and keep communities safe, but it does pose a risk to people's privacy.
"I think it's very important with these kinds of things that there be maximum transparency, that people know the cameras are.... and that it is really important that the material only be used for the purposes for which it's being gathered and not some other purpose," he said.
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