About 100 closed-circuit cameras will be keeping an eye on high-traffic pedestrian areas throughout Vancouver during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the city announced Monday.

The city says the cameras will enhance public safety and will be deactivated once the Games are over.

But the BC Civil Liberties Association says the cameras don't reduce crime and firmly believes the city intends to continue using them after the Games.

The city's position

City officials say a control room has already been built and that the cameras will be installed in key areas over the next two months. Those areas will be:

  • Granville Street from Drake to Cordova
  • Robson Street from Bute to Beatty
  • Hamilton/Mainland from Georgia to Drake
  • LiveCity Yaletown
  • LiveCity Downtown.

According to the city, staff will monitor the screens for public safety, crime prevention, property protection and incidents that may require a police or emergency response.

"This is more about maintaining safety and security for the visitors and residents that will be here during the games," Kevin Wallinger, the city's director of emergency management told CTV News.

He said recorded images will be held for 30 days and up to a year if they become part of an investigation.

Wallinger said during the Celebration of Light event a few years ago, closed-circuit cameras played a big role in assisting emergency response crews get to a stabbing victim on the beach.

Wallinger said the total cost of the project is between $2 and $2.5 million, with funds coming from the provincial and federal governments.

Concerns

But Micheal Vonn, policy director for the BC Civil Liberties Association, told CTV News studies have shown that closed-circuit cameras do not reduce or deter crime.

Vonn also said she doesn't believe the cameras will be deactivated after the Games and instead will be a "legacy" for the city.

"The concern is the cameras will be with us, redeployed in another areas," she said.

She pointed out that Vancouver Police Department has long campaigned for cameras to monitor the Granville Street entertainment district.

She said the city has not adequately sought input from the public about the cameras and worries that the cameras could be used by authorities for other purposes, such as monitoring speech activity - "things we should be very concerned about the state having surveillance over."