Meaford is going to look into the installation of municipal cameras in the downtown area.
Council approved this week having staff look into the possibility of some cameras after Coun. Rob Uhrig brought forward a motion.
Uhrig’s motion says there were previously several public webcams in the downtown area operated by private businesses, for the purpose of viewing weather, traffic and commercial activity. These cameras, however, are no longer in operation and council wishes to install new cameras to provide a live video stream of downtown Meaford.
When discussing this motion, the topic of privacy came up, with Coun. Harley Greenfield asking if the cameras could be used for other purposes.
Uhrig says: “In many countries in the world now, it’s become widely accepted that video recording is pretty accepted for law enforcement purposes, however, privacy laws dictate what we can do. In the interim, this would at least provide an opportunity for weather, people could see traffic issues, and tourism when you have events such as Summerfest.”
Interim CAO Matt Smith clarifies the type of cameras Uhrig is proposing, are the type which provides a live stream of the downtown area, and would not include editorial functions like rewinding.
Uhrig says initially, he would like to see cameras for the purpose of tourism, but would also like to see more closed-circuit recording or CCTV.
Smith told councillors: “For our municipal cameras for surveillance, we have to make a determination about the necessity of them. The Information and Privacy Commissioner gives some pretty specific guidance on what you are allowed to do and what you are not allowed to do, and it is not just about the risk of something happening, you have got to be able to demonstrate that it continues to be a risk.”
Smith adds he believes video surveillance should be a last resort.
“We should invest money in trying to solve the determinants of crime and to try and help us avoid those situations first rather than trying to find ways of monitoring people to catch them in the act,” says Smith.
Meaford staff will be performing a review of the existing camera equipment and reporting back to council.