The Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) will now be able to tap into regional infrastructure for installing closed-circuit television cameras, or CCTV, following the council’s backing of the initiative.
The police service in southern Ontario aims to set up a total of 52 cameras at 10 different spots throughout the region as a means to enhance community safety and assist officers with their investigations.
To proceed with the program, police need consent from all seven municipalities and require regional support to access essential infrastructure like utility poles owned by the region in those areas.
As it stands, the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge have given their approval for the program alongside police, but no cameras have been installed yet.
Kitchener city council endorsed the plan on Monday evening while Cambridge announced on Tuesday that it had finalized its contract with police for allowing CCTV within its borders.
Cambridge Mayor Jann Liggett showed her support during a committee meeting on Tuesday, mentioning that city-owned CCTV cameras in downtown Galt were utilized by police earlier this week to gather evidence related to suspects who broke into L. A. Franks restaurant and stole a significant amount of ice cream.
“If it wasn’t for the cameras, we would be making assumptions that aren’t true because those cameras showed the people actually doing the theft and how they did the theft,” she told councillors.
How CCTV cameras will aid police investigations in Waterloo region
Waterloo regional police want to install CCTV cameras across the region. Deputy Chief Jen Davis explains how these cameras will support officers during investigations and share what feedback they’ve received from residents about this initiative.
WRPS Deputy Chief Jen Davis informed councillors on Tuesday that other municipalities like Guelph, York, and Chatham-Kent have had positive outcomes with similar programs.
“We saw an excellent story out of Chatham-Kent where they were using video surveillance to track a suspect and they witnessed on video the suspect threw something over a bridge and they were able to go back after the fact and recover a firearm that was thrown into a creek,” she said.
“It recovered a weapon that had been used in a violent offence.”</pp
If authorities observe crime moving away from areas where CCTV has been set up, they can shift them as needed, she noted.</pp
“They’re not necessarily fixed forever in one location.”</pp
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Kitchener mayor prefers more patrols
Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic isn’t in favor of this program; he voted against it both at a city level and during Tuesday’s regional committee meeting. Vrbanovic expressed concerns about privacy issues and stated he’d rather see an increase in officer presence within communities. “More feet on the ground in our downtowns, more feet or cars or bikes in our neighbourhoods and so on,” he said. “Those are things I hear regularly from residents. Those are what I’d like us to focus on.” WATCH | How CCTV cameras will help officers in their investigations :
How CCTV cameras will aid police investigations in Waterloo region
Waterloo regional police want to install CCTV cameras across the region. Deputy Chief Jen Davis explains how these cameras will support officers during investigations and share what feedback they’ve received from residents about this initiative.
WRPS Deputy Chief Jen Davis informed councillors on Tuesday that other municipalities like Guelph, York, and Chatham-Kent have had positive outcomes with similar programs.
“We saw an excellent story out of Chatham-Kent where they were using video surveillance to track a suspect and they witnessed on video the suspect threw something over a bridge and they were able to go back after the fact and recover a firearm that was thrown into a creek,” she said.
“It recovered a weapon that had been used in a violent offence.”</pp
If authorities observe crime moving away from areas where CCTV has been set up, they can shift them as needed, she noted.</pp
“They’re not necessarily fixed forever in one location.”</pp
Cameras will only be installed where wanted
</pp Davis also mentioned that even though installation infrastructure is owned by the region, police won’t place any cameras unless there’s interest from a municipality.</pp The Township of Wilmot decided against joining this program back in February. Meanwhile, North Dumfries councillors requested staff prepare information for council regarding considering participation in WRPS’s CCTV initiative there.</pp “Our intention is not to work with any municipality until they’re ready for involvement,” Davis explained.</pp “If any municipality or township wants time to see how it goes elsewhere first that’s perfectly fine. We’re willing to accommodate.”</ppSource link
