Independent media needs you. Join the Tyee.

The Hook: Political news, freshly caught

‘No legal requirement’ for 2010 street cameras: city official

Vancouver will use $2.6 million in government funding to improve surveillance during the 2010 Olympics, despite being under no legal obligation to operate street cameras.

“There’s no legal requirement per se,” the city’s director of emergency management Kevin Wallinger told council. “But there’s certainly an identified risk.”

City officials today approved a staff report to tap into $435,161 in provincial funding and $2.16 million from the 2010 Vancouver Integrated Security Unit to purchase and monitor temporary closed circuit cameras.

Come Games-time, CCTV will be used around the cruise ship terminal, downtown entertainment districts and city-run “live sites.” City officials will run a control room at Vancouver’s Emergency Operations Centre.

Wallinger couldn’t give specific dates or locations of the deployment, but said cameras will first be tested during the Celebration of Lights fireworks festival this summer.

Asked by Vision councillor Andrea Reimer whether CCTV was a legal requirement in Vancouver’s Olympics bid, Wallinger replied the city is only obliged to provide a “safe and secure” Games.

The emergency management director said temporary cameras will let officials monitor crowd movements and traffic flows to ensure the safest Olympics possible.

“It’s not about law enforcement, it’s not about security,” Wallinger said in an interview. “It’s about the broader public safety aspects.”

COPE councillor Ellen Woodsworth voted against the camera initiative, arguing the technology might infringe on the civil liberties of protest groups. She said the 15,000 police, private security and military personnel expected during the Olympics will be enough to protect the public.

“I’m not convinced that CCTV is necessary, given the overwhelming security forces for the Games,” she said.

Olympics Resistance Network member Alissa Westergard-Thorpe worried the report approved by council doesn’t guarantee temporary monitoring won’t turn into permanent surveillance. She pointed to host cities such as Athens, which retained its cameras after the 2004 Summer Olympics.

“There are no legally binding elements or funding proposals for the removal of CCTV after the Games,” she said.

Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for The Hook.

Find more in:

What have we missed? What do you think? We want to know. Comment below. Keep in mind:

Do:

  • Verify facts, debunk rumours
  • Add context and background
  • Spot typos and logical fallacies
  • Highlight reporting blind spots
  • Ignore trolls
  • Treat all with respect and curiosity
  • Connect with each other

Do not:

  • Use sexist, classist, racist or homophobic language
  • Libel or defame
  • Bully or troll
  • Troll patrol. Instead, flag suspect activity.
comments powered by Disqus