A proposed federal law with stiff jail terms for anyone wearing a mask during a riot has been criticized as reactionary and unenforceable.
Unless police arrest a masked rioter on the spot, the bill’s critics wonder how they could identify him after the fact, if he was wearing a mask.
In fact, a masked rioter in London was identified, thanks to a new generation of high-definition cameras and software made by Vancouver’s Avigilon Corp. (TSX:AVO).
And images taken by London Drugs’ own high-definition security cameras have helped police identify rioters who vandalized and looted stores in downtown Vancouver during the 2011 Stanley Cup riot.
“This is where the use of very high resolution surveillance can actually work,” said Avigilon CEO Alexander Fernandes. “Properly used surveillance can be a great adjunct to law enforcement.”
C-309 is a private member’s bill that was inspired by last year’s Stanley Cup riots and the G20 riot in Toronto in 2010.
Fernandes cites the Occupy movement’s demonstrations, student demonstrations in Quebec and riots in Europe as further examples of where his company’s equipment could become an important enforcement tool.
He pointed out that during last year’s riots in London, a masked man who went on a vandalism spree was identified by police using Avigilon surveillance equipment.
“They were able to identify tattoos on his arm, clearly. At the same time, they were able to clearly identify that he had picked up a club or some type of object, and they were able to go back afterwards and retrieve that object and lift fingerprints.”
The person had a record, so his fingerprints were on file.
But Bill C-309, which is before the Senate, has been slammed as an overreaction, in part because the Criminal Code of Canada already makes it illegal to wear a mask in the commission of a crime. However, it applies only after the fact. Bill C-309 would allow police to arrest people involved in a riot or any other “unlawful assembly” for wearing a mask, even if he or she had not committed a criminal act.
London Drugs president Wynne Powell thinks the mask law is needed and has travelled to Ottawa to speak to a parliamentary committee in its support.
The London Drugs store at the corner of Georgia and Granville streets sustained an estimated $500,000 in damage during the Stanley Cup riot.
“We need to take the streets back for the regular people,” Powell said. “Obviously we have to respect privacy, but at some point you would think the protection of the public has to be considered.”
London Drugs has its own high-definition security cameras, which helped identify some of the looters. The City of Vancouver also owns Avigilon surveillance cameras, which were used during the 2010 Winter Games.
Five key areas in downtown Vancouver were monitored with an Avigilon surveillance system, which included 32 high-definition cameras and five high-definition dome cameras with infrared illumination.
The equipment was removed after the Games. Powell said it’s unfortunate the city did not have the equipment in place during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Daniel Stevens, acting director of emergency management for the City of Vancouver, said the use of high-definition surveillance equipment in public places poses privacy concerns.
“There are limits to what public bodies can collect,” Stevens said.•
