Province announces pilot program on monitoring high-crime areas

The Province will provide $1 million in initial funding to Vancouver, Surrey and Kelowna to examine increased use of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in high crime urban areas, Solicitor General John van Dongen and Attorney General Wally Oppal announced today.
“Technologies such as CCTV can greatly assist the police and prosecution in bringing offenders to justice,” said van Dongen. “Our goal is simple: to investigate and solve more crime where it is really hitting home; urban areas where people have the right to feel safe going about their lives.”
Currently, the City of Kelowna makes limited use of CCTVs, and both the City of Vancouver and City of Surrey have been exploring options for their use. Through this pilot program, the Province will work with the local governments, law enforcement agencies, and local Crown counsel to take the first steps towards identifying high crime locations for their use, the best technologies to employ, and how these services can be coordinated with existing public safety measures.
Continue to read release from Province of BC.