Depending on where you're heading in
Toronto
, you could soon be a television star, though the network is closed-circuit and the only people watching will be Toronto Police.
Toronto
cops have put more than a dozen cameras around the city and as of Monday they'll be recording 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The cameras are in 13 separate locations across
Toronto
, from the Entertainment District to residential areas, and though they're intended to ensure people's safety the initiative is drawing mixed reviews.
"A lot of us would be uncomfortable, and I don't know what we're fighting," said one
Toronto
woman.
"I think they're a good idea to have in neighbourhoods too," another local resident countered.
There are signs with each camera that are intended to inform people they're being watched, and police say the footage isn't monitored live, just reviewed after an incident.
"We're keeping people informed," promised Toronto Chief of Police Bill Blair.
"We're not trying to sneak up on anybody, we're not going to be pointing those cameras in people's windows ... it's to make our public spaces safer."
The project
will run for six months in 31 Division, 42 Division and 52 Division and follows an extended period of preparation, crime analysis and research into the way CCTV cameras have been used in other Canadian jurisdictions as well as in the
United States
and
England
.
In 52 Division, cameras will be located at the following eight locations:
-
Pearl Street
-
Duncan Street/Adelaide Street West
-
Duncan Street/Richmond Street West
-
Richmond Street West, east of
Duncan Street
-
Richmond Street West
/
Widmer Street
-
Richmond Street West
/
Peter Street
-
Adelaide Street West/Peter Street
-
Richmond Street West
/
John Street
In 42 Divisions, cameras will be located at the following two locations:
-
Sewells Road/Brenyon Way
-
Morecambe Gate/Chester Le Blvd
In 31 Division, cameras will be located at the following three locations:
- South side of
Finch Avenue West
, east of
Jane Street
-
Two cameras on the west side of
Jane Street, south
of
Finch Avenue West
For more information on the CCTV pilot project,
click here
(pdf file).