The city deployed twice the number of surveillance cameras during the Stanley Cup playoffs than it originally stated in a Courier article published two weeks after the June 15 riot.
Deputy city manager Sadhu Johnston said in a June 29 article that seven surveillance cameras were used downtown to monitor hockey game crowds after a request from the Vancouver Police Department.
In a presentation to city council Sept. 6, Johnston revealed that 14 cameras were set up on light poles and rooftops in areas around the so-called live sites near the Vancouver Public Library on Georgia Street and Granville Street corridor.
Johnston was on holidays when the Courier attempted to reach him to explain the discrepancy in number of cameras used during the playoffs. Documents released by the city Sept. 9 show Johnston approved the use of cameras May 29. Two days later, Mayor Gregor Robertson told the Courier at a news conference to announce the live sites "there's no plan to use surveillance cameras."
Kevin Wallinger, the city's director of emergency management, said he couldn't speak for Johnston. He said seven cameras were deployed at the beginning of the playoffs. Three were added for Game 6 and four for Game 7 for a total of 14 cameras. "The interest in [surveillance cameras] from a public safety perspective and from the city's perspective is the value they bring in overall situational awareness about what's going on," said Wallinger, when asked if the intended use of the cameras was to discourage riotous behaviour. "That's not really the point for us. Certainly the police are more interested in crime prevention and some of those aspects."
The city's emergency management office operated the 14 cameras and were deployed in addition to 11 existing non-recording traffic cameras at nine intersections, which remain today.
Camera footage from the riot, about 350 gigabytes, was turned over to the VPD to aid in its investigation, which has yet to lead to any charges against suspects.
Use of surveillance cameras, or closed-circuit television cameras, was promoted in three riot reviews conducted separately by the city, the VPD and a B.C. government-ordered independent report.
City council recommended to city staff at a Sept. 6 meeting to develop a major event management policy that considers enhancing the use of surveillance cameras for special events. The recommendation calls for consultation with crowd control experts, the VPD and civil liberties representatives.
Micheal Vonn, policy director for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the association welcomes the opportunity for input. The association doesn't believe surveillance cameras discourage criminal behaviour in the streets. "If we need a stark example, we can look at the four-day riots in the UK," said Vonn, noting studies also show clearance rates in Britain have not increased with use of the country's thousands of cameras. "We are absolutely sure that [cameras] do not prevent anyone from going berserk."
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