When walking down Main Street in downtown Galt, there's a lot to take in; shopping, history and scenic river views.
But what some might not know is there is an eye in the sky watching your nearly every move.
Closed circuit security cameras were installed by the City of Cambridge in 2018 in major intersections and popular parking lots in the Galt core. The project started as an initiative to deter crime in the area and provide residents and business owners with a sense of security.
The cameras cost the city over $200,000 to install them in the Galt core, covering 10 locations. The main cluster of cameras sit on Main Street from Wellington Street down to Water Street. There are also cameras in the Dickson, Water, Mill and Main Street parking lots.
We wanted to know what the cameras see and if they work to deter crime.
So, CambridgeToday filed a Freedom of Information request with the city clerk’s office in August and was eventually able to obtain footage of one of our reporters walking a route through the main cluster of cameras in Galt.
The footage shown above is the same footage seen by police if they request access to the cameras, according to Cayleigh Lundy from the city clerk’s office.
Mayor Jan Liggett, did not provide a comment about the effectiveness of the cameras at deterring crime in Galt but referenced recent remarks she made to CambridgeToday last summer about the cameras in Preston.
In the story, she said the cameras are there to make a difference and deter crime in the area. Citing that police recently used the cameras to positively identify a suspect in a crime that occurred in downtown Galt.
"Cameras installed on businesses and homes when used in conjunction with city cameras are the best weapons we have currently to deter and convict criminals,” Liggett said.
Although Waterloo regional police did not respond to requests for comment on the effectiveness of the cameras in deterring crime or assisting criminal investigations, stats show that In 2019 the footage was collected 51 times by police.
In the past two years, however, police have only accessed the cameras 17 times despite what would appear to be a similar number of incidents.
With information provided by WRPS Occurrence Map, it is evident that crime in the Galt core has not declined, but stayed relatively the same since the cameras were installed.
While the crime rates for visible crimes like robbery, break and enters and drugs fluctuate, there has been a sharp increase in the number of assaults in 2022.
The second highest number of assaults occurred this year, 70, only to be outnumbered by 2018 with 76.
City councillor for Ward 4 and former lawyer Ross Earnshaw said he will be looking at the cameras in more detail to gauge their value, effectiveness and quality.
While Earnshaw admits his legal background is not in criminal law, he said it is generally known that in order to obtain a conviction in court, one must prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a pretty high standard of proof.
“If the images are grainy, and the facial features are indistinct, that would be of use to defense counsel in suggesting that the identification of the alleged perpetrator is questionable,” said Earnshaw. “The probative value of the images that have been captured by these cameras would be low, not zero, but low because of the high standard of proof that's required.”
Another issue that came to light during the CambridgeToday investigation is what appears to be a contradiction in the city's policy for use of the cameras.
One of the main reasons the cameras were installed was to deter criminal activity and provide a sense of security in downtown Galt. But if few people know they're there, how can they be a deterrent?
The cameras sit high above the streets, usually mounted on light posts or traffic signals.
In the parking lots there are signs posted below each of the cameras, letting those who park there know the area is being monitored. But there are no signs posted below the cameras on the street level or in the surrounding perimeter.
According to the city’s camera use policy, and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC), it is mandatory to have visible and noticeable signage informing those in the area they may be under surveillance.
“Signs with a clear, language-neutral graphical depiction of the use of video surveillance are prominently displayed at the perimeter of the monitored areas and at key locations within the areas,” reads the IPC act.
The City of Cambridge did not respond to a request for comments about the signs or privacy concerns.
Darren Charters is a professor at the University of Waterloo and an expert in privacy. He thinks the lack of signs on the street is a major ethical issue and poses concerns over the non-disclosure of recording in a public space.
“There is an expectation that in public spaces there will be disclosure that those cameras are in use. So if that's missing, certainly, I think that failing to meet an expectation of the IPC,” said Charters. “People should have a reasonable opportunity to be aware of it from an ethical perspective, and failing to do that does raise an ethical concern.”
Privacy concerns around the use of security cameras is not new to the city.
In 2018 when the cameras were first installed, they became the subject of a complaint to the IPC. The resulting findings forced city staff to come up with a policy on how the cameras would be used, how the footage would be stored and how it can be accessed. The policy has been in place since last fall.
"There are real concerns to privacy when cameras are involved," said Charters. "Let's hope the city exhausted every last avenue before deciding to go this route."