Upgrading Hwy. 407 cameras could help police services catch car thieves: Vaughan mayor

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca announced the municipality plans to purchase and operate 10 CCTV cameras.

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca is urging the province to install new software on Hwy. 407 cameras to help catch car thieves that he says are using the highway as a “gateway” into the GTA.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday morning, Del Duca said he will be making the request in a letter he is sending to Premier Doug Ford today.

“We know that Highway 407 is a major gateway and getaway opportunity for the criminals that are stealing vehicles in our community,” Del Duca told reporters Tuesday.

He said Automatic Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) software will help police services better track stolen vehicles in the region.

“If this ALPR technology can be added to the 407’s cameras, it is one more tool for, not just York Regional Police, but all of the police services across the GTHA to be able to go after vehicle theft,” Del Duca said.

He noted that he believes the software can be added to existing cameras so the province would not have to invest in additional hardware.

Del Duca said the province recently provided more than $200,000 in funding for additional cameras for York Region as part of their CCTV grant program and he said he understands talks are underway to possibly expand that program.

“The premier has been very, very supportive of fighting crime and being tough on criminals and supporting police services so I hope the province will take a serious look at expanding their program but here in Vaughan… we are not waiting,” he said.

“We are not putting our heads in the sand. We are showing leadership.”

Del Duca said he will be asking Vaughan city council to approve $350,000 to fund additional CCTV cameras in the community that will be equipped with both ALPR and “gunshot detection” technology.

He added that the integrated technology will provide York Regional Police with a “powerful tool” to help respond quickly to violent crimes in the community.

Each new camera costs an estimated $23,000, Del Duca said, and if council approves the funding, it will allow York Regional Police to install up to 10 new cameras.

That would bring the total number of CCTV cameras in the community to between 20 and 25, he said.

“York Regional Police have already identified six locations in our city, driven by their data and their analysis, for the cameras,” Del Duca said.

“This is ultimately an operation that will be driven and managed by York Regional Police.”

The gunshot detection software will cost an estimated $120,000 in total, Del Duca said, and York Regional Police plan to run a pilot program to test out the technology before fully rolling it out.

York Regional Police Deputy Chief Paulo Da Silva said the detection system will alert police if shots are picked up by the censors, allowing officers to respond immediately rather than waiting for a 911 call.

‘They are exasperated’

He added that existing CCTV cameras in the community appear to have yielded positive results.

“Compared to last year, we have seen a reduction of violent crime within one kilometre of CCTV camera locations by more than six per cent,” Da Silva said. “These cameras work.”

Del Duca said the decision to install more cameras is in direct response to concerns over community safety following recent violent incidents in Vaughan.

A series of shooting incidents, along with the death of 46-year-old Abdul Aleem Farooqi, who was shot and killed in front of his family during a home invasion in Vaughan over the Labour Day weekend, has led to widespread community safety concerns in the region, Del Duca said.

“What have residents have said repeatedly to me... is that they are exasperated and they are tired,” the mayor said.

“I’ve lived here in this city for close to 40 years. It has always been a safe community. That is a cornerstone of our reputation as a community and people want to see leaders at all levels working with police to step up and to do something significant and tough to push back against rising criminality.”