Council has directed staff to study the possibility of providing the Vancouver Police Department with real-time access to video captured by the City of Vancouver’s traffic camera network.
At present, the city’s 221 traffic cameras are not immediately accessible to police. Also, the live feed from traffic cameras is not recorded and stored for after-the-fact investigative purposes, according to Coun. Brian Montague.
“A live feed would assist in dealing with weapons calls, crimes in progress, missing persons, major events, natural disasters,” said Montague, in introducing his motion to council Wednesday.
“The recorded footage would help with investigations such as homicides, assaults, robberies and motor vehicle collisions.”
Currently, all feeds from the cameras, which are located at intersections across Vancouver, can be viewed on the city’s website. But they are still images and delayed by approximately 15 minutes.
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act would be the only current avenue for police to seek city camera footage, but it isn’t done because the footage is not recorded.
Montague, a retired Vancouver police officer, said many Canadian cities already provide varying degrees of access to city cameras to assist police agencies.
He said traffic camera footage from Surrey was instrumental in the arrests of three individuals now charged in connection with the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in June 2023.
'Criminalize individuals'
Montague’s motion passed but not before representatives from the Pivot Legal Society and BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) told council they opposed granting police access to the cameras because of privacy concerns.
“Providing the police with access to traffic footage would inherently alter the intention and purpose of traffic cameras from a tool that's used to provide information on road and traffic conditions to a tool that's used to surveil and criminalize individuals,” said Nina Taghaddosi, a Pivot social worker.
Lawyer Aislin Jackson of the BCCLA urged council to “abandon this exercise.” But understanding Montague’s motion would be passed, Jackson recommended “a fulsome consultation” with the public. She also asked that the request to have access to the city's traffic camera network get reviewed by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C.
Montague’s motion requests that guidelines be in place for accessing the traffic cameras “to prevent misuse and to maintain public trust in law enforcement practices.” He recommended a privacy assessment of the plan.
'Violently attacked'
Koraleen Jarvis of the Gastown Residents Association said she was surprised police didn’t already have access to the city’s traffic cameras. Jarvis mentioned the camera located at the intersection where Richards, Water and Cordova streets converge.
“This camera is also very near the area where a female tourist was violently attacked by a random assailant recently,” she said.
“This incident should serve as a reminder that if any traffic camera could help prevent such attacks from happening in the future, then it is our collective responsibility to use them.”
Staff is expected to report back to council early next year on the feasibility of giving police access to the cameras.
Staff will also study the operational, financial and legal implications of recording all video captured by the camera network and maintaining the recorded data for a period of seven days.
X/@Howellings
