Vancouver council passes motion to allow police access to traffic cameras

Should cops have access to Vancouver traffic cams? Two councillors want to give the police department access to city traffic cameras, prompting concerns about privacy.

Vancouver city council has voted for a motion that will grant police access to the city’s traffic camera network.

The motion, put forward by ABC councillors Peter Meiszner and Brian Montague passed Wednesday.

“The big thing here is we're providing police with a tool that allows them to do their job more effectively, more efficiently, and more safely,” Montague said. “It’s something that's long overdue. We've got infrastructure in the city that's completely underutilized.”

According to the report, the city has around 221 traffic cameras. The cameras have not previously been accessible to the Vancouver Police Department. If the organization wants images or video from the cameras, they must do so online, just like the public.

“It would help improve how they allocate resources during certain 911 calls, large scale events, and missing persons calls,” Montague said.

Aislin Jackson, policy staff counsel with The B.C. Civil Liberties Association, worries the decision will compromise privacy.

“We have the right to go about our daily life without being subject to unreasonable, groundless surveillance by the state,” Jackson said. “And that's important because if we don't have that – that realm of security and being free from surveillance – then we're going to constantly be scrutinizing our own activities.”

Montague disputes that, saying there’s no expectation of privacy in public.

“The police don't have the resources, and they don't have the desire to conduct surveillance with these cameras there for an as-needed basis,” he said.

Council heard from various speakers both for and against the motion.

Nina Taghaddosi, a registered social worker and anti-stigma campaigner with Pivot Legal Society called in to oppose the motion.

“We are really concerned about whether [police] are going to be applying for warrants, if they're going to be using the video footage in criminal investigations,” Taghaddosi said.

Montague said staff will now be tasked with doing a legal and privacy assessment.