Starting in summer of 2023, the Peterborough Police Service will have a CCTV program within the downtown core of the City of Peterborough. Safety is the number one priority of the Peterborough Police Service. This program is one tool to help ensure the safety of residents and visitors to our community.
Please have a read of the FAQs below.
FAQs
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What is the intent of the program? |
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The key purpose of the Community Safety CCTV Network is to promote public safety in the downtown core of the City of Peterborough. |
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How will the program work? |
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When the CCTV cameras are installed and configured, PPS will use what is called "passive monitoring" of the cameras. This means, authorized PPS members will not be watching the cameras in real time but rather, the video will be captured and recorded, then used by the police to investigate and solve crimes if criminal activity is reported in the areas where the cameras are situated. Authorized PPS members will only monitor video in real time during reported situations in progress as per the policy. |
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How many cameras? |
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We have identified twelve (12) locations. Cameras will be within the blue area.
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How is it determined where a camera will go? |
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The locations are based on what will provide the best coverage in the downtown, specifically major intersections where the cameras can view all four ways. No specific area is being identified. These are all fixed cameras in public spaces. In some instances specific events/time periods additional cameras may be installed if it is determined doing so would provide the same benefit of community safety as the permanently mounted ones. |
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Where is the money coming from? |
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The funds are coming from a Provincial Strategy Grant through the Ontario government. |
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Will the cameras be monitored? |
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The cameras are not actively monitored except in identified real time situations where there is a crime in progress. PPS is focused on “passive monitoring” where video will be viewed after the fact if a crime has been reported. |
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Who will have access to the data? |
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Only authorized members of the PPS will have access to the video. All access to video is audited and those logs are stored for one year. |
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When will the data be accessed? |
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After the reporting of any crime in the downtown that may have been captured on the camera(s) or during real time events in the downtown. |
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Do cameras improve safety? Feelings of safety? |
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CCTV systems can be a deterrent to crime, provide a sense of safety to the community and businesses and can be an asset in solving crime. |
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What is the current state of available cameras to Peterborough Police? |
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Currently, the only cameras available to the police belong to citizens and businesses. While we have always relied on their cooperation, not all these investigative avenues are available in a timely manner and can cost valuable time during an investigation. |
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How will the Peterborough Police Service report the data from the program e.g. # of crimes solved, # of times footage accessed etc.? |
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Peterborough Police will be tracking the number of incidents where the footage was used, the number of times the cameras were accessed, and the number of reported crimes solved using the footage. These statistics will be added to the annual report and also reported to the Province as part of the grant requirements. |
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Will any other groups have access to the data/video? |
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The video may be provided to other law enforcement agencies upon request for investigative purposes. |
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Is there be a Peterborough Police Service procedure on the CCTV Camera Program? |
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Yes. Peterborough Police has created a new CCTV procedure and has performed a Privacy Impact Assessment. |
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Will video be released publicly? |
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Video footage could be released to the public to help identify people of interest in investigations. |
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Will the Peterborough Police Service be using Facial Recognition? |
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Peterborough Police will not be using Facial Recognition technology, and has no plans to do so. |
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How many other communities have programs such as this? |
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While there may be variations to the programs, many communities in Ontario have CCTV camera programs in their downtown core. From the largest city, Toronto, to smaller towns like Coburg, Belleville, and Kawartha Lakes to name a few. Other cities with robust CCTV systems include: Sudbury Ottawa London Windsor Niagara Falls Kingston Cornwall
Downtown CCTV systems are present throughout the province, across the nation and around the world. |
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Media Articles |
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Radio Interview:
TV Interview: https://globalnews.ca/news/9754915/peterborough-12-cctv-police-cameras/
Newspaper Article: |
The CCTV area will be marked by these signs.
Feedback?
Please email: chiefofpoliceoffice@peterborough.ca