Peterborough’s police chief says closed-circuit television cameras would be an invasion of privacy if installed at the Wolfe Street tent encampment.
On Monday evening during city council’s general committee meeting, Peterborough Police Service Chief Stuart Betts outlined the service’s proposal to install 12 CCTV in the downtown core at intersections along George and Aylmer streets.
Betts says the 360-degree cameras are to be used as a crime deterrent and also as a tool to assist in investigations including motor vehicle collisions. The cameras won’t be monitored continuously.
Council inquired about the Wolfe Street encampment and whether a camera could be added in the future. The inquiry comes after a fatal shooting on June 2 claimed the life of 36-year-old city resident Sarah King. An arrest for first-degree murder was made on June 8.
Betts says the camera would be an invasion of privacy to the individuals living in tents in the parking lot next to the city’s emergency overflow shelter.
“I recognize that for many of us, we don’t necessarily think of those as homes,” he said. “But for those living in tents, that is — under the law — their home and I can’t access that without a warrant.”
He said residents in the neighbourhood have signed up for the service’s Cam Safe program and regularly make home security footage of the Wolfe Street area available to police.
Coun. Alex Bierk also raised concerns with a camera that was near the safe consumption and treatment services site on Simcoe Street. Betts says the service will move a camera that was initially at the intersection of Aylmer and Simcoe further east.
“I do appreciate that and I know that was an initial concern which is why the cameras weren’t going to be put there,” he said. “However the increasing intersectionality with that type of location and criminal activity has reached a point where people are asking for our help.”
The cameras are being funded by a $185,000 grant from the Ontario CCTV Grant Program which the province announced in September 2022.
“We will install these with the city’s blessing, of course, and their participation,” Betts said. “We maintain this, we pay for the connectivity, and it is warranted for 10 years.”
Council on Monday voted in favour of the service’s proposal, with Bierk being the lone councillor not in favour. The project will seek final approval at city council’s next meeting on June 26.