On the same day Peterborough city council would later endorse a request to allow Peterborough police to install cameras in downtown Peterborough, the police service reported its in-car camera system is now operational.
On Monday (June 12), Peterborough police announced cameras have been installed and are operational in 25 police vehicles, including all marked cruisers and some unmarked cruisers. Officers have been trained on the system, which includes two recording devices attached to the police vehicle.
The devices are set to record audio and video for front-facing activity outside the vehicle and within the prisoner-control area of the rear seat. The forward-facing cameras are connected to a microphone an officer wears and captures all audio communication when the in-car camera system is active.
“This is important technology for your police service as it will help with transparency, accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness, but most importantly it’s about safety for the community and safety for officers,” ” says police chief Stuart Betts in a media release.
The system also includes a continuously scanning automated license plate reader so officers can be notified of drivers and vehicles that should not be on the road.
Unlike body-worn cameras, the in-car cameras will only record what is in view of the vehicle or activity in the back seat. Officers are required to notify people they are being recorded when the cameras are active. Any bystanders captured by the cameras who are not involved in a police investigation will have their faces blurred if the video is released for court or other purposes.
VIDEO: Peterborough Police Service in-car camera system
For more information about the in-car camera system, visit the Peterborough police website at peterboroughpolice.com/en/learn/technology.aspx.
On Monday evening, Peterborough city council meeting as general committee endorsed a request to allow Peterborough police to install 12 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in downtown Peterborough.
“This is a situational crime prevention and opportunity reduction initiative, reducing the opportunity to commit crime in a particular time and place through visible and conspicuous passive video surveillance cameras,” states an April 24th report to the police services board.
The CCTV cameras would be installed at the intersections of Alymer and Brock, George and Brock, Alymer and Hunter St. West, George and Hunter St. West, George and Simcoe, Alymer and Charlotte, George and Charlotte, Alymer and King, George and King, Alymer and Sherbrooke, and George and Sherbrooke, as well as at the Simcoe Street bus terminal.
“The Community Safety CCTV Program will initially be implemented in an area of the downtown core of Peterborough where crime and anti-social behaviour have been identified as being higher than other areas of the city,” the report states. “The initial area of installation would involve intersections along George Street and Aylmer Street that have been identified by our crime analysts as high priority locations.”
The cameras are being funded in part by a $185,505 grant from the Ontario government’s CCTV grant program, a three-year $6-million program announced in 2020 for police services across the province, with the annual cost of operating the 12 cameras estimated at a maximum of $8,640.
Items endorsed by general committee will go to the regular council meeting on Monday (June 26) to be considered for approval.
This story has been updated with city council’s decision to endorse the installation of CCTV cameras in downtown Peterborough.
