Dozens of surveillance cameras coming to Moncton’s downtown core

MONCTON -

The City of Moncton is turning to technology in hopes of tackling some of the crime and vandalism in the downtown core.

“I think the biggest concern right now is the lack of presence by the RCMP and the lack of the ability for them to enforce the law,” said Deputy Mayor, Shawn Crossman.

Hoping to spark reassurance among citizens and businesses, Moncton City Council voted Monday in favour of installing 33 surveillance cameras along St. George Street.

“The decision is pretty simply, the motivation is pretty simple, crime,” said Crossman.

“It’s on the rise, things are happening that residents are concerned about and businesses are concerned about and this is just another avenue to make sure when something does happen we actually have footage of it, we can actually review it and find out the information and move forward.”

Currently there are similar surveillance cameras installed on Main Street, however, Crossman says they haven’t been up long enough to have data on how much of a difference they have made.

He adds that the cameras are not monitored 24/7, but are there for reassurance and as an extra tool for the city, RCMP and even citizens if an incident does happen.

“The whole drive behind this to make sure we keep a bird’s eye view on what’s going on in the downtown core,” he said.

The exact locations of each camera has not been made public, but Crossman says he expects installation to start in the next month-month and a half.

“I want to keep one thing in mind, these cameras going up, we’re not going out there to try and pick on certain citizens or certain people or genders,” he explained.

“We’re going out there to make sure that laws are followed and if laws aren’t followed and a situation arises then we can actually have evidence to support it.”

He adds that the city came up with a specific policy that follows the Right to Information Act and Privacy Act.

“I think St. George was the big kind of missing puzzle piece, so that’s encouraging, that it’s going to be 33 on St. George,” said Patrick Richard, the executive director with Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville.

“There’s been an increase in traffic there, pedestrian traffic especially, so I think that is the right spot. Start there for sure.”

While acknowledging that RCMP can’t be everywhere all the time, Richard says it’s a step in the right direction for businesses in the area, especially since many are disappointed with the RCMP’s response.

“Having our businesses call and call again and just not be answered is not acceptable so I think this at the very least, and this is very much at the very least, their able to go back and review the footage,” he said.

“Any kind of move to, or attempt to move the dial I suppose is encouraging. There’s no silver bullet, so this is just one more move in the right direction.”

Officials say the footage will be kept for 30 days at a time and more cameras could be added in the future.

“I think our recreational parks need to be looked at as well, bus terminals, intersections – we have red light cameras coming now, I think it’s becoming more of an accountability thing and holding people accountable to the laws that are out there and have to be followed,” said Crossman.

The price of the 33 cameras was already apart of the city’s budget.

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