Pubdate: Sat, 07 Oct 2006
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 Calgary Herald
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Sarah McGinnis

STREET CAMERAS WORRY WATCHDOG

Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner Frank Work fears 
installing surveillance cameras could make George Orwell's Big 
Brother society a reality in Calgary, but the city's mayor is not backing down.

Dave Bronconnier wants to escort Work on a walk through the East 
Village to see why cameras are needed to thwart downtown crime, 
rather than conduct a privacy impact assessment suggested by the 
privacy watchdog.

In an Oct. 4 letter to the mayor, Work said he was "not categorically 
opposed to surveillance cameras . . . (But) I am concerned that 
people embraced surveillance as being synonymous with safety and 
security when this is simply not the case."

Work was responding to a proposal that could see video cameras 
installed in high-crime areas such as portions of the downtown core.

The plan is under review by the Calgary Police Commission. Before 
city council debates enacting a bylaw allowing cameras in public 
spaces, Work wanted to raise a red flag.

"I think the biggest concern is they don't embark on this as a silver 
bullet for all crime and disorderly conduct. If they sell it to 
people that 'we are going to guarantee you safer streets if you put 
in cameras', it's not accurate," Work said Friday.

Work wants to know exactly how the cameras would be used, if they'd 
be monitored by police and whether they'd have a voice-over function 
that allows officers to speak to anyone in range of the device.

Citing evidence in the United Kingdom, where surveillance has been 
used extensively, he worried they would offer a false sense of 
security. Operators often get bored and distracted, focusing cameras 
on canoodling couples or attractive pedestrians instead of watching 
for drug dealers and thieves, he said.

Video can also be used to catch litterbugs and jaywalkers, eerily 
similar to George Orwell's prophetic novel 1984 where an all-powerful 
government called Big Brother observed and controlled everything.

"Do we really want that kind of society?" said Work, who warned if 
Calgary goes ahead with the cameras other Canadian cities will follow.

Blanketing the city with video cameras capturing our every move is 
never ever going to happen, said Mayor Bronconnier.

"We're not looking for litterbugs or people who are jaywalking or 
other things suggested in his letter," Bronconnier said.

"We're talking about high-crime areas (where) open drug activities 
are taking place between dealers. Crime happening literally right 
outside City Hall doors. Seniors in (an East Village) building are 
fearful of what happens . . . after dusk every day. Fearful of their 
personal safety in their own home."

Video cameras would be just another tool for police to use to address 
growing crime in specific areas, Bronconnier said.

City council has already spearheaded an extra 18 police officers for 
the downtown core, and Bronconnier is going to ask council to back 
funding for an additional 18 more officers at next month's council meeting.

But even with the extra help, police can't be on every street corner. 
That's where cameras can help, he said.

Before the cameras go up, Work wants city council to conduct a 
privacy impact assessment, evaluating how the program would infringe 
on privacy rights.

The mayor has his own suggestion for the commissioner.

"I would offer to invite the privacy commissioner on an escorted tour 
and walk through some of those hot spot areas and to see it first 
hand," Bronconnier said.

"We are concerned about a person's personal privacy, but my 
overriding concern is public safety in areas where we know crime is 
on the rise."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman