Vancouver looking at $2.5 million in street cameras for Olympics

by JeffHuang | March 20, 2009 at 11:29 am

543 views | 4 Recommendations | 11 comments

Vancouver city officials is looking to beef up the 2010 Vancouver Olympics security by adding $2.5 million worth of street cameras for surveillance. If approved, the money will be used to purchase and install more CCTV cameras and update existing cameras in a refurbished command centre.
$435,161 of the $2.5 million will be used to provide 10 new portable cameras. They are unsure on how many cameras can be purchsed with the $2.16 million, but back in 2006, a single camera was about $20,000 to install and maintain.

Vancouver city officials are hoping to tap into $2.5 million in government funding to beef up surveillance during the 2010 Winter Olympics with street cameras.

The cameras that are being set up for 2010 are "temporary" and "there is no intent to leave permanent cameras up that are intalled for 2010." With all the gun violence and gang shootings in Vancouver, maybe it is not so bad leaving the cameras up after the Olympics. However, civil rights groups are concerned over a more intrusive policing if the cameras are left up after the 2010 Olympics as it did in the 2004 Athens Games when 300 cameras were kept after the event.

1 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Tina Kells

at 12:32 on March 20th, 2009

$2.5 million for cameras???? How much have they spent helping the homeless? That is terrible.

Jordan Yerman

at 07:32 on March 22nd, 2009

Vancouver seems determined not to learn from other cities' mistakes. Give London a call and ask how those cameras are working in terms of stemming crime. The city guarantees itself lots of blurry, Youtube-worthy footage, but the crime has long been committed by the time anyone with a badge actually sees the footage. So shall it be in Vancouver.

"We're looking for a blurry guy" tends not to get much in the way of results.

ianbborg

at 13:17 on March 20th, 2009

ianbborg has contributed a photo to this story.

ianbborg

at 13:19 on March 20th, 2009

Please Visit my photostream here

ianbborg has contributed a photo to this story.

car1edb

at 14:53 on March 20th, 2009

They'll probably spend some - shoveling them back into riverview for 2010.

Mrbungle (not verified)

at 19:03 on March 20th, 2009

oh dear oh dear. the temptation to have a finger in every pie for some people is just too great.

nicole.lloyd

at 09:58 on March 22nd, 2009

Is it there for our safety or to spy on us?

nicole.lloyd has contributed a photo to this story.

Yuliya Talmazan

at 10:14 on March 22nd, 2009

The extra surveillance does not concern me given the level of violence in Vancouver. I do not feel like my personal space would be violated as the result of a few extra cameras installed. We are already under so much supervision from the dozens of video lenses in banks, government institutions and apartment complexes, that installing a few extra ones won't really change much.

Corbishley1

at 15:17 on March 22nd, 2009

2.5 million is a lot of money!

VANCOUVERITE (not verified)

at 11:04 on March 26th, 2009

WAY TO MUCH MONEY!!!! use your own damn money not ours!! we other more critical things to worry about then for them to spend money and see how busy traffic is. how will the cameras? NO. and what will happen for every face that does commit a crime? will they be broadcasted on tv for the public to report? probly not. and if it does... how many ppl will they actually broadcast?? 10 ? if in that case the money will not be worth if to catch 10 ppl. the tv stations would not broadcast ppl over and over. it's a waste or their time and money. just like these damn cameras.

Vancouverite (not verified)

at 11:15 on March 26th, 2009

and if the police were doing their jobs, instead of hangning at tim hortons (not just steriotyping) kingsway/victoria. and actually doing some work then this wouldnt' be a problem. i mean what are they doing? from what i know is alot bs shit and yea racism is in the police departmeant to. picking on other cultures and harrassing ppl for wearing certain things. if they were professionals they would have more to go on then just what ppl wear and how they look. and stop wasting ppls' times for no reason!