When Christopher Skinner was killed on the weekend, one of the first things police did was look for security-camera video of the crime. Mr. Skinner, 27, who was engaged to be married to his boyfriend and planning to go to law school, was downtown at about 3 a.m. Sunday when he got into an altercation with two men. Police believe the men knocked him to the ground, got into their black SUV and ran him over - a despicable crime if there ever was one.
What police desperately need is evidence that would help them identify the men or their vehicle. If this were London, England, where thousands of CCTV, or closed circuit TV, cameras monitor public spaces, they might have it by now. But Toronto police have exactly 23 - yes, 23 - CCTV cameras. So, instead, police are going from store to store in the area around Adelaide and Victoria Streets, hoping a private security camera picked something up. So far, all they have is fragmentary images of Mr. Skinner walking on the street before the crime and of the SUV leaving the scene, but nothing on the crime itself.
The Skinner case makes a powerful argument for putting many more CCTV cameras on city streets. Stacy Gallant, the homicide detective investigating the murder, says he would like to see them on every corner, not just in the rowdy downtown entertainment district but in other high-risk parts of town. He calls them an "invaluable" crime-fighting tool. Even if they don't capture the actual crime, they can help police build a timeline of what happened when, identify potential witnesses and corroborate or rebut evidence later given in court.
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Police say that despite the limited number of cameras on city streets CCTV helped them arrest 26 offenders and lay 42 charges during a $2-million, 21-month pilot project that helped with crimes ranging from assault to murder. In the entertainment district, licence-plate checks from video footage helped them nab stolen vehicles, known gang members and armed-and-dangerous fugitives.
Across Canada and around the world, video is being used more and more to solve crimes. Surveillance cameras helped lead to the capture of those who abducted and killed Victoria Stafford of Woodstock, Ont. Video of the fatal nighttime clash between former Ontario attorney-general Michael Bryant and a bicycle courier may prove crucial to the outcome of his trial in the courier's death.
What if CCTV cameras had been mounted all along Bloor Street that night? We would surely have a much clearer idea of how those much-discussed events unfolded. As it is, prosecutors will have to depend heavily on the testimony of witnesses whose view of the events may have been fleeting and whose memories may be faulty. The Supreme Court said in a 1996 ruling that video can be a "silent, trustworthy, unemotional, unbiased and accurate witness who has complete and instant recall of events."
CCTV is no panacea. It isn't likely to work in spread-out areas - say the troubled Malvern district - where you would need thousands of cameras to cover the turf. In Britain, which has more than four million CCTV cameras, evidence is mixed about how successful CCTV is at actually deterring crimes, as opposed to solving them after the fact. "Like every tool, it has to be used at the right time and the right place," says Toronto Police Staff Sergeant Mark Barkley, who helps oversee the CCTV effort. "Cameras do not replace police officers; they support them."
Then, of course, there is the whole issue of privacy. Opponents of CCTV say it is taking us toward an Orwellian world where the state can follow our every move. While it's healthy to worry about Big Brother, those fears are overblown.
Nobody watches the live video being recorded by the handful of CCTV cameras in Toronto. The only time anyone sees it is if police request footage for a crime investigation; otherwise it is simply stored and then automatically erased after 72 hours. Police are working hand in hand with Ontario's privacy commissioner to make sure their project complies with the Protection of Privacy Act. They hold public consultations in every neighbourhood where CCTV is introduced and post prominent signs whenever cameras go up.
If CCTV still creeps you out, remember that you're already on camera every time you walk through the mall, enter a parking garage or go to the bank machine. If you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about. If you're committing a crime, watch out. There may be cameras watching. The more the better.
