Currently 24 cameras are in use, mostly in the entertainment district from University to Bathurst and Queen to Front.

Mark Pugash, director of corporate communications for the Toronto Police, told the newspaper that the decision to keep the cameras came after several years of testing and public feedback. Pugash says that the public response has been mostly positive. Public consultation has shown that many people find the cameras reassuring and value the contribution to public safety. Beyond just being helpful in deterring crime and protecting the public, CCTV has also proven useful in crime investigation. He points out that most of the cameras in Toronto are in banks, shopping centers, large buildings, public transport, and other spaces where a private body controls the footage.

Still, there has been a backlash regarding the decision to keep the cameras. Many have expressed concern regarding the invasion of their privacy and violation of civilian rights. There is also the question of how beneficial CCTV ultimately will be in the deterrence and solving of crimes.

In regards to privacy, Mark Pugash said that the Privacy Commissioner had been consulted to address any concerns. The cameras are not a secret. There have been news releases about them, there are Toronto Police signs on them, and there is also information about them on the Toronto Police website. Furthermore, the footage will only be kept for 72 hours before being recorded over and the cameras only record events in public areas, not private.

Andrew Clement, professor at U of T’s Faculty of Information, has been an outspoken critic of Toronto Police’s use of CCTV. According to Clement the onus is on the police to show that these sort of cameras are a necessary component of ensuring public safety. Clement adds that the cameras were set up in the first place without proper public consultation, which is an important aspect of the Privacy Commissioner’s guidelines.

Pugash acknowledges that cameras sometimes have the effect of moving crime rather than deterring it. Crime analysis has been done to address this issue. Looking at places such as the UK where CCTV has been extensively used since the 1990s, it is questionable to what extent CCTV has a positive impact on public safety. The decision to record over footage after 72 hours also seems unnecessary, considering that crime may be reported outside of that time slot.

Ultimately, the psychological component of installing CCTV cameras, in the perception of privacy invasion and increased security but also in discouraging would-be criminals, may be the biggest factor in the reception and impact of the new cameras.