One year after Toronto’s city council approved the acquisition of additional closed circuit TV cameras, the province has announced $3 million in funding towards doubling the number of devices throughout the city.

Calling the technology a “key tool” in the fight against ongoing gun violence, Premier Doug Ford said the money would increase the number of CCTV cameras to 74 from the current 34. Provided over three years, the $3 million will cover the cost of the cameras and ongoing operating costs.

“We have seen the value the video can bring, especially in light of the fact that we have people who are literally terrorizing neighbourhoods, often times when they don’t even live in those neighbourhoods,” Mayor John Tory said following the announcement at the Toronto Police College on Friday.

But critics fired back, saying investments should be made in programming to prevent gun violence in the first place — not to help react to it after the fact.

“The real work of stopping gun and gang violence starts before kids join gangs, not after heartbreaking and devastating shootings tear families apart and take lives,” said NDP MPPs Faisal Hassan and Kevin Yarde.

In a joint statement, the MPPs criticized the Ford government for cuts to youth programming, including the cancellation of a funding grant to Sistema, an after-school music program.

Josh Matlow, the Toronto city councillor who last year attempted to convince council to invest in youth programming instead of CCTV cameras, questioned the efficacy of the technology, saying it doesn’t lead to a decrease in violent crime.

He cited research from the United Kingdom-based College of Policing, which summarized evidence and concluded that while the technology makes a small but statistically significant reduction in crime — including vehicle theft — it “has no impact on levels of violent crime.”

“Rather than buying cameras to watch vulnerable young people, it is more effective to look out for them before they take the wrong path,” Matlow said in a written statement Friday afternoon. “Supportive spaces that provide better options for vulnerable young people will support families, create safer communities, and save lives.”

Martin Gill, a U.K.-based expert who has studied the efficacy of CCTV, told the Star Friday that the success of installing more cameras can vary greatly, depending on factors such as the quality of the evidence captured and backup storage.

“It can be a massive waste of money, and there can be better things you could spend it on,” Gill said. “If used well, and if integrated properly, they may offer potential to impact on some issues.”

The effort to increase CCTV coverage began in July 2018, when Tory introduced a walk-on item at the Toronto police board meeting calling for 40 more cameras and the use of controversial gunshot detecting technology known as ShotSpotter.

Council later passed a $44-million, five-year plan to combat gun violence, which included approval for both increased CCTV and ShotSpotter, an American-developed technology that detects gunshots through sensors and then determines the precise location. At the time, Matlow brought forward a motion to eliminate the funding for CCTV cameras and ShotSpotter, but lost the vote 12 to 33.

The funds announced Friday cover only the 40 additional cameras. A city spokesperson confirmed Friday that ShotSpotter remains unfunded, and police spokesperson Allison Sparkes said there are currently “no plans to roll it out.”

Speaking to reporters Friday, police Chief Mark Saunders would not say where the additional cameras will go, but said their locations will be determined by intelligence gathered by officers on the ground. He said he has heard repeatedly from residents in parts of the city experiencing gun violence that more cameras are needed to identify shooters.

“People are scared because of the gun activity,” he said.

Like the cameras already in operation, the additional CCTV technology will be used only as a deterrent to crime and for evidence if and when a crime occurs. Toronto police do not proactively monitor any of the CCTV cameras, Sparkes said Friday.

“We access the CCTV footage only when there is an investigative need, and that access is controlled,” she said. “Police are not monitoring or pulling this video unless there is an investigative need on a specific case or incident.”

Toronto has seen a spike in shootings this year, particularly during the summer months. Although gun deaths are at a three-year low — 22 people have been fatally shot this year — the number of shootings has outpaced all recent year-to-date statistics. There have been at least 275 shootings so far this year, compared to 259 this time last year, and 243 in 2017.

CCTV and other types of surveillance cameras are increasingly playing a role in solving violent crime, including homicides. Gary Giroux, who served on the Toronto police homicide squad for two decades, told the Star last year that solves are now “largely coming from video.”

But the cameras also raise privacy concerns, particularly when paired with facial recognition technology, a tool that uses artificial intelligence to allow investigators to more efficiently identify suspects caught on video committing a crime. For well over a year, Toronto police have been using the emerging tool that compares images of potential suspects captured on public or private cameras to a database of approximately 1.5-million mug shots.

“You’ve then got questions about what the right balance is, between crime prevention and security on the one hand and personal rights on the other,” Gill said. “(These questions) become particularly acute, I think, when you start having lots of cameras and you start using facial recognition technology.”

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Sparkes said the only context in which Toronto police would use facial recognition technology in conjunction with CCTV footage would be when they are investigating a major crime, such as a shooting or assault. She stressed that the CCTV footage is only accessed if there is an investigative purpose.

Earlier this month, Toronto police announced an 11-week, multimillion-dollar initiative putting more resources into on-the-ground policing in problem areas. Called “Project Community Space,” the program will see officers under the direction of the service’s guns and gangs task force conduct intelligence-led work.

In his statement, Matlow said the solution to gun and gang activity lies in addressing the root causes of crime, including “inequality, poverty, systemic racism, and a lack of opportunity.” He said for less money than the $3 million announced Friday, Toronto could create 20 new youth spaces to offer a safe and supportive environment for young people.

With files from Jennifer Pagliaro and Star staff

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis

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