camera-free calgary

in march, 2008, the "community and protective services committee" of the calgary municipal government decided to proceed with a "pilot project" to install up to 24 video surveillance cameras in the downtown core. the cameras could be installed as early as the summer of 2008 and will focus, predictably, on the poorest areas of this city, where racial and class profiling by the police is already rampant.

abc calgary believes that surveillance cameras represent an expansion of the prison/industrial complex outside of the walls and into the streets. we recognize it as nothing less than a widespread intelligence-gathering operation directed against the supposedly-free citizens of this city that disproportionately targets the poor and people of colour.

the campaign

the campaign we are currently waging to stop this "pilot project" is, currently, a traditional "liberal-style" one, focusing on letter-writing, eduction and lobbying. expansion of the campaign to include other tactics may come in the future if required. current campaign strategies we are asking help with are:

• big bronco is watching poster
• contact your city councilor
• write to the media
• contact the provincial privacy commissioner

"big bronco is watching"
abc calgary provides anti-camera campaign posters for download and print. the theme is "big bronco is watching", a supposedly clever play on the 1984 "big brother" theme directed at calgary mayor dave "bronco" bronconnier.

click to download full-sized pdf

contact your city councilor
we are encouraging all calgarians to contact their city councilor and express their opposition to the proposed surveillance program. posted letters are the preferred method.

when writing your councilor, some issues you may wish touch on are:

• the cameras are an invasion of privacy: constant surveillance of the general public is an invasion of privacy. the police do not have the right to indiscriminately search homes and we feel they should not have the right to indiscriminately film calgarians.
• the federal privacy commissioner opposes surveillance cameras: george radwanski, the federal privacy commissioner ruled against the town of kelowna, bc when they tried to install surveillance cameras. he stated: "police forces cannot invoke crime prevention or deterrence to justify monitoring and recording on film the activities of large numbers of the general public."
• the proposed cameras would disproportionately target the poor and people of colour: the proposed locations of the 24 cameras would be the "east village" and olympic plaza, areas mostly frequented by poorer calgarians and people of colour.
• surveillance cameras don't work: no study has shown a definite relationship between cameras and crime reduction. at best, they serve to force the "criminal element" (whatever that is) into different locations. after two and a half years, san francisco's 68 camera, $900,000 surveillance program has resulted in only one conviction. britain, the most surveiled nation on the planet, release a study in 2005 that showed 7 out of 13 sample areas having an increase in crime after cameras were installed.
• surveillance cameras are a waste of money: politicians are scared by angry taxpayers more than anything else. the "pilot project" has an estimated price tag of $500,000.

make sure to state that the surveillance pilot project is a "voting issue" for you (whether you vote or not). express clearly that you will not vote for your current councilor of he or she supports this pilot project.

abc calgary provides a sample letter to help you in writing your councilor. please modify the letter to reflect your own opinions and knowledge; this is a sample letter, not a form letter.

the address for all city councilors is:

Councilor's Name
The City of Calgary
Aldermanic Offices (8001)
P.O. Box 2100, Station M
Calgary, AB
T2P 2M5

to find your alderman:

• find your ward
• find your alderman by ward

of course you should also send a copy of your letter to big bronco himself: mayor dave bronconnier.

Mayor Dave Bronconnier
City of Calgary
P.O. Box 2100, Stn “M”
Calgary, AB
T2P 2M5 

note: to make writing your councilor easier, abc calgary does provide an easy web form you can use. if you use the form, we print your letter, pay the postage and mail it for you. it doesn't get much easier than that!

write to the media
in order to build a sense of public outrage over this issue, we are asking people to write short letters to various publications. news outlets often set their editorial policy based on public reaction through the letters section in order to make their publications more appealing to a large demographic. a sufficiently large letters-to-the-editor campaign can actually set a paper's position.

most letters should be 250 words or less and all of them require you to submit at least your full name and phone number (they will call if they plan to publish your letter to confirm your name).

our suggested list is:

ffwd magazine
probably the friendliest publication in the city. write ffwd at info@ffwd.greatwest.ca

cbc calgary morning "eyeopener" show
this is what passes for the mythical "liberal media" in this city. they eyeopener can be contacted by phone or email:
phone: 1-403-521-6209
email: via contact form

the guantlet
although a student paper, not necessarily very progressive. you need to be a student of the university of calgary to submit a letter to the guantlet. they ask for your name, phone number and student id number. email them at gauntlet@ucalgary.ca

the calgary sun
you know your city is in a sad state of affairs when the sun is the more liberal-leaning of the two dailies! the sun requires your full name, address and phone number. you can email them at callet@calgarysun.com

the calgary herald
largest circulation daily paper in calgary, although generally hostile to anything that could be construed as an anti-police statement... no matter what the police are doing! mail them at letters@theherald.canwest.com or use their online form at www.canada.com/calgaryherald/letters.html

write provincial privacy commmissioner
the provincial privacy commissioner, frank work, accepts emails at generalinfo@oipc.ab.ca

in 2001, mr. work stated:

"in a free and democratic society, it should be up to the proponent of the surveillance system to show that surveillance is necessary and that there is a reasonable expectation that the surveillance will bring about a desired effect."

he has also stated that it is up to the government to "make the case for a video surveillance system as opposed to other less intrusive methods."

in 2002, mr. work did approve edmonton's whyte avenue surveillance pilot project. in his approval of the edmonton system, mr. work stated "Surveillance cameras and general public surveillance must not be seen as the common solution to every crime or security problem." the edmonton surveillance system was dismantled in 2005 citing a lack of results.

your letter to the privacy commissioner does not need to be long or in-depth. a simple statement that you oppose surveillance cameras in calgary because of privacy concerns and a request that the commissioner do "everything in his power" to halt the pilot project is enough.

if you wish to write a longer letter or email, some points you may wish to include could be:

• surveillance systems are an intrusion on privacy
• signs indicating that an area is under surveillance does not imply that those who see them consent to be surveilled
• the commissioner has stated that police forces must prove that surveillance cameras will work to reduce crime and that other "less intrusive methods" will not.
• the city of calgary has provided no such proof and a pilot project in edmonton showed that surveillance cameras were ineffective at reducing crime

contacting the commissioner
the privacy commissioner can be written at:

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (Edmonton)
# 410, 9925 - 109 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2J8 

or emailed at generalinfo@oipc.ab.ca