100’s of Surveillance Cameras Being Installed in Vancouver

Source: CBC News



18 Jan 2010—Security personnel are installing hundreds of closed circuit surveillance cameras around downtown Vancouver in preparation for the Olympics, but questions remain about whether or not many of the cameras will be removed after the Games.

By the time the installations are completed over the next 10 days, an estimated 900 RCMP cameras will be eyeing the crowds around Olympic venues like BC Place Stadium and GM Place.

Another 90 cameras are being set up by the city of Vancouver at the two LiveCity party sites at West Georgia and Cambie Streets and David Lam Park, and along the makeshift pedestrian malls on West Georgia, Granville and Robson Streets.

The RCMP said its cameras are rented and will be removed after the Games. But the city's plan for its monitoring equipment has not been finalized.

The city has said it plans to deactivate the cameras after the Paralympic Games end March 28, but whether or not they will be removed is not clear. "We need to approach it very cautiously," Mayor Gregor Robertson told CBC News.