Castanet

The city of Kelowna is using security cameras to increase public safety and deter criminal activity.

Nine security cameras have been installed along the waterfront and downtown core in recent months and more are on the way.

The cameras are situated in both Stuart and City parks as well as the foot of Lawrence and Leon Avenues. The Queensway bus loop is also equipped with two cameras as is Kasugai gardens.


“Hopefully there is a deterrent effect with the cameras the people who might be engaging in behaviors we don’t want in these places might choose not to do them because of those cameras,” says city spokesperson Lance Kayfish.

Kayfish says more and more municipalities are using security cameras to increase safety on public spaces.

While most people support the idea, some question the privacy issues related to being recorded.

City officials say they are sensitive to privacy concerns and for that reason have attached conditions to the surveillance system.

“There are very strict rules and controls about who can view the video and about when and why we would provide the video information to a third party like the RCMP so there is a formal process in which the RCMP would have to request the video,” says Kayfish.

The cameras were purchased and installed through a $150,000 provincial grant.

Two more cameras will soon be installed. One on top of the building that houses the new washroom at City Park. The other by the Sails at the foot of Bernard Avenue.

alanjh595 wrote:Good point. In any PUBLIC space, there is NO right to privacy. That includes streets, parks, walkways, parking lots, roadways, grocery stores, Okanagan Lake, and gas stations.
In any private spaces like businesses, restaurants, bars, malls and shopping centers, and Tim Hortons are left up to the the discretion of the owners.
Airports are under Federal control, bus stations, parks, playgrounds, schools, are under Provincial/city control.
Workplaces are either under owner or Worksafe control.

The public can only have complete control over the residence that they live within or the the property that they own. This does NOT include renters.

kelofornia wrote:

alanjh595 wrote:Good point. In any PUBLIC space, there is NO right to privacy. That includes streets, parks, walkways, parking lots, roadways, grocery stores, Okanagan Lake, and gas stations.
In any private spaces like businesses, restaurants, bars, malls and shopping centers, and Tim Hortons are left up to the the discretion of the owners.
Airports are under Federal control, bus stations, parks, playgrounds, schools, are under Provincial/city control.
Workplaces are either under owner or Worksafe control.

The public can only have complete control over the residence that they live within or the the property that they own. This does NOT include renters.

And why do you suppose that this has become the norm?

Because people didn't stand up and ask questions in the beginning. They accepted what the municipal rulers said and let it be so.

There are more honest, law abiding citizens than there are criminals and vagrants. Yet because of the criminals and vagrant behaviour our rights and freedoms are infringed upon and the justice system is a revolving door of catch and release.

NO MORE CAMERAS. If the police can't do any better than catch and release with the amount of footage available to them publically and from private businesses and residences perhaps it's time for a different way of policing not giving them more invasive tools that they won't be able to utilize completely through the legal process.

alanjh595 wrote:
The public can only have complete control over the residence that they live within or the the property that they own. This does NOT include renters.

qwaylude wrote:Hmmm, didn't know the sity had a security force. Did Basran hire some thugs?

GordonH wrote:There are a number of cameras around now:
https://www.castanet.net/scenic-web-cams/

qwaylude wrote:Hmmm, didn't know the sity had a security force. Did Basran hire some thugs?

"The monitoring system, says Johansen, will allow the city to make the best use of its security force, allowing them to respond to problem situations immediately."

fz6adventure wrote:
"Problem situations" are a matter of perception. Some folks think the administration of Kelowna at the top is a "problem situation".

qwaylude wrote:Hmmm, didn't know the sity had a security force. Did Basran hire some thugs?

"The monitoring system, says Johansen, will allow the city to make the best use of its security force, allowing them to respond to problem situations immediately."