In a third-floor boardroom at City Hall, Orillia’s police services board recently unveiled its latest proposal to tackle crime in the downtown.
Surveillance cameras mounted on posts and fixed to buildings would record the movements of citizens good and bad, and relay the images to a central location.
Police investigating vandalism and other crimes in the city’s core could then review the digital recordings for evidence of wrongdoing.
“It acts as a deterrent,” said Joe Scott, of Napanee-based Scott’s Security Systems. “Nobody wants to get videotaped doing something wrong.”
Scott, who was speaking at the invitation of the board, was addressing a group that included Mayor Ron Stevens, OPP detachment commander Terry Wright and a representative of the local chamber of commerce.
Outfitting the downtown and waterfront with cameras and a live feed to the local detachment would amount to a one-time fee of $114,000 – one of two proposals Scott submitted to the board.
A second option would see the company provide eight hours of staffed camera monitoring per night for a monthly fee of $9,500, including all equipment and personnel.
When a crime is in progress, police are immediately alerted and can respond promptly, he added.
“Someone should watch it during key times … otherwise it is just a reactive tool,” he added.
Under the less costly option, images fed to the OPP detachment would be recorded but not monitored on a regular basis, as police do not have the necessary staff, Wright stressed.
The police services board will present both options to city council.
Whether either is adopted remains to be seen, given the extensive list of pricey projects already before council, said Stevens.
“If they wish to put it as a capital project, I have no way of knowing how favourably it will be received this year based on what we are facing,” he said
Stevens called the proposal “interesting.
“The intent is to have another set of eyes out there,” he added. “It will never replace another police officer. I think I support the idea, but the money certainly is an issue.”
According to Quinte West OPP Detachment Commander Earl Johns, reported assaults have fallen nine per cent, and property damage has dropped nearly 30 per cent since a surveillance system was installed in the community of Trenton in August.
He stressed that the cameras function as an investigative aid to be used in conjunction with traditional policing.
“It does not replace the presence of that officer down there, but it does give you eyes on every corner,” Johns told the group.
Cameras could prove useful in deterring vandalism at the Port of Orillia, said local chamber of commerce representative Susan Lang.
“It might be really helpful with graffiti, and we do get vandalism at the port, too.”
The chamber has for the past 13 years provided night security at the port during summer months.
“This would be an additional tool,” said Lang, who is the harbourmaster.
Downtown Orillia Management Board chair Allan Francoz said there exists little appetite among his members for electronic surveillance.
“There is a lot of feeling that it is trespassing on our personal lives, that it is too much of Big Brother out there,” he said.
Even if a camera were to capture a crime in progress, Francoz said the bureaucratic follow through needed to secure a conviction would prove cumbersome and costly.
“First identifying them as being the right person, and then finding them and getting the proper charges laid – I think it is a waste of money,” he added. “The general consensus is the whole city would be better represented by having another duty officer out there.”
Merchant Troy Dwinnell wholeheartedly endorses the surveillance proposal.
“I’m all for it,” he said. “I’m sure it would be helpful.”
The owner of True North Music, Dwinnell has replaced three broken windows in less than three years at a cost of between $400 and $600 per window.
While acknowledging cameras are likely to be viewed by some as a privacy issue, Dwinnell harbors no such concerns.
“It wouldn’t bother me,” he added. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
