Kamloops cops rolling out business CCTV network

RCMP are asking Kamloops businesses to opt into a security camera network.

The detachment started rolling out the program last year in an effort to more easily collect evidence amid an investigation and encouraged business owners to register their surveillance cameras into an “RCMP-accessible database,” according to a Kamloops RCMP annual report.

How many businesses are enrolled in the program or whether it has supported any investigations so far isn’t clear, but the North Shore Business Association hasn’t seen anyone yet take part.

Executive director Jeremy Heighton said it’s still in early stages and isn’t yet in use, but he’s hopeful it should support businesses facing ongoing street-level issues.

“In the last year or so, criminal and non-criminal calls have risen drastically on the North Shore, so program such as this one would be welcomed by the community and I’m sure would have a positive impact,” he said.

Kamloops isn’t the first city to implement an opt-in surveillance program.

Others in Canada have taken similar approaches, including Kelowna where a registry was introduced for downtown businesses in 2020 and continues today.

Kelowna also has a separate municipally-owned security camera network, which Kamloops similarly mirrored in a vote last spring. The Kamloops system hasn’t yet been rolled out, but both are mainly operated by local bylaw departments and footage is shared with police when necessary.

iNFOnews.ca has reached out to Kamloops RCMP for more information about the CCTV registration program.