Enchaced camera surveillance, stiffer panhandling fines floated in safety report

Dec 3, 2019 | 10:23 AM

WINNIPEG — A report from the Manitoba Police Commission says the province should consider enhanced security cameras, a crackdown on panhandlers and other measures to improve safety in downtown Winnipeg.

The report was commissioned earlier this year as crime spiked in the city.

It says more closed-circuit cameras could be installed in public areas and downtown streets, and new technology could be adopted so that the devices could detect certain behaviours.

Commission chair David Asper says the cameras might be able to have facial recognition technology or detect and alert police to potentially violent behaviour.