A former Prince George resident who helped spearhead a successful surveillance camera program in Penticton may hold the key to curbing much of the crime and social issues plaguing the northern capital’s downtown core.
Brett Turner is the executive director of the Downtown Penticton Business Improvement Association.
Launched in 2021, in collaboration with the City of Penticton, the surveillance camera program received an 18-month trial run with an initial investment of $40,000 installing 10 cameras in several downtown hot spots.
Fast forward to the fall of 2022 and suspicious activities saw a significant decline, which also led to some cameras being moved from their original locations and placed in new emerging hot spots.
“We had a very high number of calls when they first went in. A lot of our business owners were at their wits end with what was going and the RCMP and Bylaw were doing everything they could but it was difficult to keep up. This was just another way we were able to operate and offer a service to have our owners do their business and help keep the area safe.”
“We had two locations that were part of the initial pilot program and those instances went from upwards of 30 a month to one or none a month. We have since removed those cameras and put them in other areas.”
The program underwent its first overhaul in 2023 where an application was made to make it permanent.
From there, the City of Penticton approved a $100,000 budget over two years to expand it. This led to the installation of 15 new cameras – monitored ones that are deployed in high-issue areas for active monitoring.
Live security personnel would monitor those devices and would come on when an activity was going on in the cameras took place.
A portion of what the cameras do is Artificial Intelligence based and can detect fires, loitering and, various weapons.
“We have had break and enters stopped mid-way and have had a large impact to the community especially, with our businesses who are trying to conduct their business every day,” added Turner.
“We had a number of fires lit and our security professionals call it in and put those fires out before the building burnt down and we’ve had a number of overdoses where someone falls over and does not get back up – those calls have resulted in our security professionals calling an ambulance and saving a person’s life.”
The non-monitored cameras are evidence-based, which, are placed along alleyways and known RCMP hotspots.
“What those do is provide immediate evidence-based footage when an RCMP file is created, and something has taken place. For example, we had a fire in an alley over the weekend and the RCMP contacted me with the file number, and we released the footage to them and can produce it to them within five minutes of what happened,” said Turner.
Due to its success rate, demand has grown for the program to become city-wide within the South Okanagan community, most notably from the school district and the provincial industrial yards.
A city-wide security council was since created in Penticton – receiving an additional $150,000 to move the program over to the chamber of commerce, which acts as a subcommittee with the Business Improvement Association chairing that committee until the expanded camera program gets off the ground.
When asked how this program could help shore up the crime and social issues in PG’s downtown core, Turner says the surveillance cameras is a more financially prudent solution than the foot patrols being deployed consisting of bylaw, firefights as well as members of the Prince George RCMP.
“With these cameras, they are a fraction of the cost of real-life police, fire and bylaw. The security officers only log on from the monitored ones (cameras when something is taking place.”
“Prince George could drastically benefit because it sounds like PG is going through some very similar issues. I think it’s a great program, it’s been great for us, and we are very fortunate that our council and senior leadership in Penticton have been on board with it and the results speak for themselves.”
Turned noted communities of similar size such as Kelowna run a similar program that covers every corner of the downtown area.
“Kelowna has a program that is run by the city. They are somewhat unique that way where they have a whole room – an operations centre and they have eyes on every single inch of downtown and that is operated by the city itself.”
Last week, Downtown PG President Eoin Foley echoed calls for a surveillance camera system in the northern capital.
He told MyPGNow.com the group along with the Prince George Chamber of Commerce wants civic officials to consider funding a remote camera system capable of utilizing artificial intelligence.
“What we are looking is something that is monitored in real-time using technology as well to catch things while they are happening especially when it’s overnight when we are not down there as owners or managers to stop things in real-time as they occur.”
Downtown Prince George is working with the Chamber to research how it would work here and what it would cost before city council is approached.
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