Police officers watch over the crowd on Granville Street in Vancouver on Oct. 27, 2017. Crime rates have been growing steadily on the street since 2012.DARRYL DYCK/The Globe and Mail
Vancouver’s city council voted against installing closed-circuit video cameras along the popular downtown entertainment district amid calls for increased safety measures after the death of a nightclub bouncer earlier this year.
Kalwinder (Kris) Thind, 23, was fatally stabbed in January when attempting to stop a fight that broke out on Granville Street, which has become a hub of Vancouver’s nightlife and is closed off to vehicle traffic on weekend nights.
The incident prompted city councillor George Affleck to propose a series of measures including expansion of patios, late-night access to transit and the installation of CCTV cameras on the street.
While the city adopted several of those measures, it ultimately decided against the cameras after a staff review that showed little evidence that CCTV cameras significantly change crime rates in areas where they are installed.
Mr. Affleck, who lives downtown and frequently visits the Granville Street area, expressed disappointment in council’s decision.
“I think there are no solutions right now on the short-term that will deal with what we’re seeing on Granville Street,” Mr. Affleck said.
Crime rates have been growing steadily on the street since 2012, but a memo from the city’s deputy manager, Paul Mochrie, warned that by installing cameras, the city could infringe on B.C.’s privacy laws.
“Given the foregoing, as well as the unclear evidence of efficacy in the particular circumstances of the [Granville Entertainment District] and cost implications, city staff do not recommend proceeding with the installation of CCTV in the GED at this time,” Mr. Mochrie wrote.
Fifty-two cameras were installed across the city during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, which at the time prompted objections from privacy and civil-liberties advocates. Since then, 41 have been decommissioned but there are still 11 rooftop cameras, which are used during large events such as the yearly Celebration of Light fireworks festival.
Micheal Vonn, policy director at the BC Civil Liberties Association, welcomed the city’s decision. Her group has previously raised privacy concerns about the use of CCTV cameras.
“We don’t say that CCTV is never justified,” Ms. Vonn said. “What we do say is that you have to provide the justification and then abide by the rules in relation to the collection of that data.”
She said cameras wouldn’t act as a deterrent.
“To put this bluntly, drunk people are not the kind of people to think twice on whether or not they should do something foolish in front of a CCTV camera,” Ms. Vonn said.
Ms. Vonn also rejected the argument that surveillance cameras are useful for police investigations. She said it’s rare for cameras to be placed at the exact spot and angled the perfect way.
A survey conducted by Simon Fraser University and Vancouver Public Space Network in 2009 found that there were at least 2,000 cameras in the downtown core that were installed by private businesses.
Charles Gauthier, president and CEO of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, says cameras installed by private businesses contribute to public safety. He maintains that city-installed cameras could have potential as an investigative tool and pointed to the 2010 Stanley Cup riots, after which police relied on the public’s video footage to identify rioters.
“They can be a really good post-event forensic tool even if it’s not a deterrent,” Mr. Gauthier said
Mr. Gauthier commended the city’s expansion of patios and the review of street design as positive steps toward increasing safety in the area.
“The CCTV cameras are not the thing we’re going to fight for,” he said. “We are very happy with the city’s decision towards a safer Granville.”