BANFF – Security cameras are being investigated as a way to help reduce and solve crimes in the tourist town following the sexual assault of a teenage girl near the pedestrian bridge across the Bow River on Halloween night.
Lobbying efforts, including from a relative of one of the girls there that night, led Banff’s governance and finance committee to ask administration to draft a comprehensive report on the implications of setting up security cameras as well as potentially identifying any crime hotspots where cameras might help RCMP.
“We need to be proactive, not reactive. The last thing we need to hear is another incident in the same area,” said Councillor Hugh Pettigrew.
“Certainly, the security and the safety of our children, our youth, is utmost."
A group of teenage girls was walking near the pedestrian bridge on Oct. 31, 2021, when one was assaulted by a man in a Halloween costume, sparking an RCMP investigation that has so far turned up no conclusive leads.
The governance and finance committee was told Banff RCMP has reviewed crime statistics for the past seven years for the pedestrian bridge and surrounding residential streets for such incidents as sexual assaults, other acts and threats of violence, or harassment, for example.
Staff Sergeant Mike Buxton-Carr, the detachment commander for Banff RCMP, said the pedestrian bridge is not considered a hotspot based on data.
“This kind of data is somewhat useful, however, I don’t intend this to in any way contradict what the concern is people are bringing up about this one issue, about other issues. There’s all kinds of metrics that are useful to determining whether an area is safe,” he said.
“Certainly hard data is one of those metrics, but public opinion has value, and we also have to realize that not every event that caused someone to feel fear was necessary reported to police.”
In the review of statistics, which also included the 100 block of Muskrat Street, part of Spray Avenue, Glen Avenue and along the river trail, the vast majority of offences happened indoors. Outdoor offences tended to happen closer to downtown.
“Of the ones that are outdoor offences that have happened in that particular area, the overwhelming majority have been familial in nature,” said Staff Sgt. Buxton-Carr. “It’s not so much someone surprising or attacking, or a random event, but people who are known to each other.”
That said, Staff Sgt. Buxton-Carr didn’t dismiss the benefits of having additional safety measures in place there, but said the pedestrian bridge would not be in his top three regions.
“Again, I don’t intend that to contradict or refute the perspective of others; it’s just what I see based on data,” he said.
During the investigation into the Halloween sexual assault, police worked with the Town of Banff to examine traffic cameras in the vicinity to see if the various descriptions of the man dressed in a masked costume match up.
RCMP officers patrolling the downtown area that night also looked at their own police in-car cameras for a matching description.
While no concrete leads have turned up in this particular case, Banff RCMP say there have been several occasions in which police have requested to access Town of Banff traffic cameras.
While the municipality’s traffic cameras have been used to varying degrees of success, police indicate offenders have been identified and crimes have been being solved on some occasions.
“As with any technology, there is a limit to their utility on a case-by-case basis based on obviously the range of the field of view of the camera and what information is captured,” said Staff Sgt. Buxton-Carr, noting it is a time-consuming process for police investigators and Town of Banff staff.
“But it’s proven its worth on many, many occasions. By no means am I saying it is a pure road to success, but there have been significant advantages to public safety just by way of identifying and further investigations against offenders.”
Town Manager Kelly Gibson said administration has no issue per se with investing in security cameras, but noted previous attempts have failed at council primarily because of privacy concerns.
He said there is an obligation to notify the public if cameras are used for security purposes, noting the report coming to council could outline the implications associated with installing security cameras.
“We do have an obligation to sign to make sure people understand they’re being recorded and there are definitely additional FOIP requirements necessary to do those kinds of things,” said Gibson in reference to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
“We could talk about areas that could have benefited from them or potentially additional cameras in certain locations that we might have traffic cameras currently.”
Councillor Ted Christensen said he feels a sense of urgency based on what he is hearing from some residents.
“I am wondering in the interim until we get the report if there’s any possibility or any suggestions as to increased foot patrols, any other immediate measures that we might take to ease the concerns in the community,” he said. “This is reaching an awareness that I think could benefit by some immediate actions.”
Gibson said the trail lightning policy has also been built around public safety.
“There is lighting planned for the pedestrian bridge,” he said, adding the conduit is already in the ground, and the new pedestrian bridge will also be fully lit.
“We’re waiting for the equipment to arrive, as soon as we have that we will have full trail lighting on the pedestrian bridge.”
In response, Coun. Pettigrew said there were concerns that the lighting is low impact.
“I am not too sure if it addresses the concern in its entirety,” he said. “It’s only part of the solution in my mind.”
Mayor Corrie DiManno said the trail lighting policy is based on Parks Canada’s regulations around lighting.
“There are sensitivities given to being in a national park. You’re not going to get high-power fluorescent lighting or what-not.”
While supporting the move for a report to come back to council on security cameras, Mayor DiManno said she preferred to see a request coming from the experts in public safety such as the RCMP if security cameras are measures that are needed.
“I have a little bit of trouble wrapping my head around this without it coming from them. Understanding there was obviously a very horrific event that happened and I can hardly stomach it, I can appreciate that was very traumatic for that group of individuals,” she said.
“The Town is here to work collaboratively with the experts, the YWCA, the RCMP, BarWatch, whoever that may be to do our part to raise awareness and put an end to things like this, but I sometimes have issue with us moving forward without a formal request.”
