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City considers handing surveillance program to police

In re-vote, councillors opt to consider handing management of Eye on the Street video surveillance program to Thunder Bay Police Service.
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The City of Thunder Bay will consider handing its Eye on the Street video surveillance program to police. (Tbnewswatch file photo)

THUNDER BAY – The City of Thunder Bay will consider putting its Eye on the Street video surveillance program in the hands of its police department, after city council reversed course on a previous rejection of the idea Monday evening.

Coun. Peng You first put forward the motion to investigate transferring the program to police at a Sept. 14 meeting, where it had failed on a 7-6 vote.

After asking for a reconsideration Monday, Peng saw several of his council colleagues change their minds to pass the motion 9-3.

The at-large councillor argued the program, currently overseen by the city and operated by security company Apex, would be better managed by police, giving the force greater control over camera locations and other details.

Putting the system in the hands of police could raise privacy concerns, city administration has warned. The current system tracks requests from officers to review video and requires a rationale each time they access footage. It also sees footage routinely deleted after a period of seven days.

“There are a number of hurdles that would need to be overcome to transfer this to the police,” said city manager Norm Gale on Sept. 14. “It’s not as easy as it would seem, in large part because of the privacy concerns.

“There will have to be some clarification in terms of how moving it to the police may affect our current arrangements under privacy legislation,” explained manager of central support Charles Campbell, who supervises the program. “Current approvals were done based on an arms-length operation, not based on police being able to view video as they wish.”

Coun. Andrew Foulds referenced those privacy concerns in voting against the motion along with councillors Giertuga and McKinnon on Monday. All others, with the exception of the absent Coun. Albert Aiello, voted in favour.

Peng’s motion directs city administration to report back to council on the feasibility and financial implications of a transfer to police by Dec. 21 of this year.

The city is planning to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade Eye on the Street equipment, which has seen few updates since its installation in 2005.

Mayor Bill Mauro, who sits on the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, was unsure whether police would want to operate the program.

However, he deemed it a question worth asking, affirming that police chief Sylvie Hauth supported Eye on the Street.

“She was unequivocal that she valued it greatly and that it is a great tool for them,” he said.



Ian Kaufman

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