The city of Kelowna is using security cameras to increase public safety and deter criminal activity.
Nine security cameras have been installed along the waterfront and downtown core in recent months and more are on the way.
The cameras are situated in both Stuart and City parks as well as the foot of Lawrence and Leon Avenues. The Queensway bus loop is also equipped with two cameras as is Kasugai gardens.
“Hopefully there is a deterrent effect with the cameras the people who might be engaging in behaviors we don’t want in these places might choose not to do them because of those cameras,” says city spokesperson Lance Kayfish.
Kayfish says more and more municipalities are using security cameras to increase safety on public spaces.
While most people support the idea, some question the privacy issues related to being recorded.
City officials say they are sensitive to privacy concerns and for that reason have attached conditions to the surveillance system.
“There are very strict rules and controls about who can view the video and about when and why we would provide the video information to a third party like the RCMP so there is a formal process in which the RCMP would have to request the video,” says Kayfish.
The cameras were purchased and installed through a $150,000 provincial grant.
Two more cameras will soon be installed. One on top of the building that houses the new washroom at City Park. The other by the Sails at the foot of Bernard Avenue.
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