Fort St. John council begins work on plan for security cameras in parks and facilities

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The municipal government has begun work on a security camera strategy for city-operated parks and facilities starting this year. 

The City of Fort St. John council has approved the first step in developing a corporate strategy for security cameras in city facilities. 

During the January 12th meeting, the council reviewed a staff report regarding plans to develop a strategy for “placement, upgrades and usage of security cameras across city facilities, parks and open spaces.”

According to staff, 90 “incidents” have been recorded across city facilities and parks, prompting the city to consider prioritizing staff and public safety and security by installing cameras in these areas. 

Those city-operated facilities most impacted are the Pomeroy Sport Centre, Centennial Park, Mathews Park, Toboggan Hill, the skate park and the ball diamonds of Surerus Park.

Staff noted the security camera program would begin with Kin Park sometime in 2026, before being expanded to other areas in a “multi-year strategy.” 

The estimated cost for the camera strategy in 2026 is estimated to be approximately $75,000.

When asked by a resident during the council’s question period, Mayor Lilia Hansen confirmed the report from staff had been “received for information” only, with no actions being taken at this time to install cameras.

“We can’t just put up a camera, even if it’s in an area with lots of vandalism,” Hansen said.

Milo MacDonald, the city’s chief administrative officer, also confirmed this, stating there were strong processes to safeguard individuals from the possible implications of the installation of a camera. 

According to MacDonald, there is a “pretty high threshold” for any public entity to install cameras and keep recorded footage from them.

“Even internally, we have processes to make sure only people who require access to the footage have access to [it], and that it is used for the purposes that are defined by the privacy commissioner in the installation of the cameras,” MacDonald said. 

“An example would be sometimes we’ll provide the footage to support a police investigation, but other members of staff aren’t privy to the footage,” MacDonald said. 

Following the approval of council, staff will begin to develop a corporate strategy regarding cameras, which will be returned to the council at a later date for further discussion.