More cameras?

Thunder Bay’s Eye on the Street should be closed so money can be spent elsewhere, says the city’s mayor.

Mayor Keith Hobbs said it’s his opinion that while the surveillance program that has cameras set up at several spots on the city’s north and south sides has led to arrests, such as a suspected drunk driver Tuesday night, the money could be spent on community policing, citizens patrol groups and prevention initiatives.

"Personally do I feel it’s good bang for the buck? No, but that’s only my personal opinion," Hobbs said. "I think those monies could be better spent."

Hobbs said the matter would need to be looked into further and would ultimately be up to city council and the police services board.

Not everyone serving on city council agrees. Coun. Aldo Ruberto said he thinks the program is great and wants to see it expanded and improved. Ruberto said the 16 cameras used by the city need an upgrade so the cameras can track motion instead of panning an area.

"They don’t focus on the incident," Ruberto said. "In London, England they have cameras so if there is motion it zooms in and can actually capture a person’s credit card if need be."

Ruberto said when he was in Taiwan recently, cities there have 8,000 cameras and people appeared to be OK with them. He thinks people in Thunder Bay would also like to see more cameras even though some may have issues with privacy.

"When you weigh privacy rights against safety, I’ll err on the side of safety," Ruberto said.

The program, first launched in November of 2005, has been working the way the city planned and has been used effectively by police said Coun. Iain Angus. He said other locations have already been identified as "hotspots" and Eye on the Street could help.
"That would give an additional level of security for the public," Angus said.

Eye on the Street cost the city $150,000 to operate in 2008.