Cameras move crime into the shadows:

Still waiting for a section for my columns on the Calgary Sun site, but until then, I will be posting here:

The cameras are up and running, but I don't hear any crooks shaking in their size 10s.
Yes, the long-awaited CCTV pilot project finally got the "Lights, camera ... action!" from the city, and high-crime areas in the core are now under the watchful Big Brother eye.
Expect to hear about some new high-crime areas in the core in a couple of weeks.
Feeling safe yet? Didn't think so.
In a year, don't expect to be feeling any safer.
Crime will still exist in the core -- drugs still dealt and property still vandalized.
After much debate over the safety of the downtown core, the year-long pilot started last week, deemed as a "new tool for post-incident investigation, evidence gathering and law enforcement."
Bylaw boss Bill Bruce also called the cameras potential deterrent to crooks.
Deterring them from doing business where the cameras are, perhaps.
That the cameras can be moved to other areas should crime trends warrant won't do much to help, but then again, neither would putting a camera on every street corner in the city.
As has been said many times before, London has one of the highest concentrations of CCTV cams anywhere, and its violent crime rate is nothing to be proud of.
CCTV is nothing new to this city, as anyone who has been in a C-Train station knows, and countless businesses use some form of camera surveillance.
In 2008, as of just before Christmas, there were about 250 commercial robberies, and 2,500 commercial break-ins for the year, according to police stats and the clearance rates for both are less than stellar.
Bank robbers are repeatedly caught on camera wearing no more of a disguise than a pair of cheap sunglasses.
So much for the notion of deterrence.
As far as transit security goes, despite being able to glean evidence for use in making arrests and gathering evidence in a couple of recent murders, the presence of CCTV has not helped improve public perception of the safety of the C-Train system.
You would think the cameras' touted ability to keep crooks at bay and provide evidence in the event of a serious crime would make people feel safe.
You'd be wrong.
In survey after survey, LRT platforms and parking lots are deemed among the top concerns of Calgarians, despite the fact the system has had some form of video surveillance since 1983.
In the most recent police commission survey, LRT platform and parking safety came second behind illegal gang activity as the issue citizens are "extremely concerned" about.
But people feel a better job is being done at addressing the gang problem, according to the survey.
And all cameras on platforms have done is move crime just into the shadows, into areas where there are no cameras.
Just take a walk around the corner from some of the downtown platforms and you're likely to be offered a host of illicit treats.
The city has obviously done its due diligence in trying to ensure the privacy of citizens is ensured, as it would have needed the approval of the provincial watchdog to go ahead with such a project.
But as Privacy Commissioner Frank Work noted in this paper a year ago, widespread surveillance is a drastic response to a crisis situation.
Calgary's declining crime rate would indicate we are not in a crisis situation, he said.
But members of city council are well-known for their drastic responses even without a crisis brewing.
So sure, bring in the cameras, just don't expect any movie magic or happy endings.