Chatham-Kent council has approved the expansion of closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in several downtowns across the municipality.
Chatham-Kent police (CKPS) initially recommended an additional 35 cameras in downtown Chatham (14), Wallaceburg (8), Blenheim (4), Ridgetown (4), and Tilbury (5), at a cost of $772,920. However, on Monday evening, Council voted 13-2 to add downtown Dresden, Wheatley, and Thamesville (Phase 2) to bring the total cost up to $989,315 because they deserve the same level of security and service as the others.
Police said the project called “Birds Eye View”, including capital costs of $346,493 and operational costs of $108,884, will be funded through municipal reserves. Police also noted ongoing operating budget impacts will be addressed in the 2025 annual budget.
CKPS Police Chief Gary Conn told Council the cameras are valuable to solve crime and enhance safety and the new improved technology has artificial intelligence capability that will help police save time solving crimes and allow officers to respond to crime in real time because there are alerts as it happens.
"Instead of finding an incident manually, the system gives us extensive smart options to proactively alert to situations as they arise, real time. We can add information to help us find missing persons and stolen vehicles instantly instead of manually searching through hours of footage," said the chief.
The old cameras are passively monitored and accessed after the fact, with signage posted at each location, notifying the public that recording is occurring in that area.
Police also said there are no analytic capabilities with the old system and all footage must be reviewed manually back at police headquarters.
"It is limited in its abilities to zoom in on licence plates or matters of interest. The new solution can zoom up to 150 feet for bullet and quad lens and up to 600 feet for PTZ lens designed to monitor vast areas or large crowd events, he said"
Chief Conn noted the new high-tech cameras have, what he calls "facial likeness", more commonly known as facial recognition, which is controversial. Experts believe that facial recognition is dangerous because it's harmful to our basic human rights and can misidentify members of minority groups.
The new cameras will be installed immediately in areas that were identified as high crime and where anti-social behavior occurred, according to the chief.
Chief Conn said Phase 3 will include surveillance cameras in downtown Mitchell's Bay, Erieau, and Shrewsbury in the future pending funding.
He said CKPS will continue applying for provincial grants to support the camera program.
Conn promised the program is subject to regular self-audits and privacy compliance.
