Brampton’s New Cameras Aid Police in Crime Fighting

New camera technology put into use in Brampton has helped Peel police solve over 200 cases in the last year, according to Mayor Patrick Brown.

The city has installed 360-degree high-resolution cameras along with automated license plate recognition tech at 50 intersections, costing $2 million, Brown shared with reporters during a news conference on Monday.

“We have a goal, a very clear goal, in Brampton, and that is to make our city and Peel Region the most inconvenient place in the country to commit a crime,” Brown stated.

Brown mentioned that these cameras serve as a “powerful investigative tool” for Peel Regional Police when looking into violent crimes, hit-and-run accidents, auto thefts, and extortion cases.

The cameras are equipped with four lenses that provide a complete view of incidents happening in real time, Brown explained.

“This is a message to organized crime and anyone thinking about committing criminal acts in Brampton: you will be caught, you will be on camera, and that digital evidence will be available to Peel police so you can be held accountable,” he said.

Brampton officials noted that these cameras can capture details like incident dates and times, license plate numbers, as well as vehicle information such as make, model, and color.

Community feedback gathered via telephone town hall

The mayor stated that community input was collected through a telephone town hall meeting which had nearly 8,000 participants. About 84 percent of those involved showed support for the cameras.

In an interview later on Monday, Brown commented that only those engaged in criminal activities should worry about any privacy concerns related to this technology.

“There was very little opposition to this; people understand that any privacy lost only affects those committing crimes. If they want to protect their privacy, they shouldn’t commit crimes in Brampton,” he said.

Peel police Deputy Chief Anthony Odoardi says: ‘These pieces of technology transmit right into our community safety operation centre in real time; we have a human monitoring what happens when notified of an incident.’ (Pelin Sidki/CBC)

Deputy Chief Odoardi pointed out that what’s new here is how the technology integrates with live monitoring from law enforcement.

“These pieces of technology transmit right into our community safety operation centre in real time. That means we have someone actively watching what’s happening when we’re alerted about an incident,” Odoardi explained.

He added that police aren’t using these cameras for general surveillance or facial recognition but for gaining “situational awareness” regarding community events.

“We focus on the right individuals-those who commit crimes or drive dangerously-and those who endanger our communities,” he noted.

Digital evidence from these cameras has assisted police in identifying suspects involved in various incidents like domestic homicides and shootings at local parks. One suspect was arrested almost immediately after being identified by footage , he shared.

In a press release , the city indicated it chose Genetec Inc., a Canadian security tech company , for supplying the license plate reader cameras while Axis Communications , based out of Sweden , provided the 360-degree camera systems.

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