B.C.'s privacy commissioner wants the Victoria Police Department to change the way it uses automated licence plate-recognition cameras, amid fears the technology could become a mass surveillance technique.
Elizabeth Denham said VicPD has been breaking the province's privacy law by gathering - and sharing with the RCMP - information about innocent people who have been inadvertently recorded by licence plate cameras.
She recommended that VicPD and other B.C. police forces automatically delete what's called "non-hit" data on people who aren't suspects, or who have committed no crime or infraction.
"Over time, the police could accumulate a large database that does describe the geolocations, or whereabouts, of many individuals, the vast majority of whom are just going about their routine daily activities," said Denham. "That should be of no interest to police."
VicPD gives its non-hit data to the RCMP each day. The RCMP says it deletes that data within 30 minutes.
But the RCMP has also publicly said it's considering keeping all the information, which would give it a massive record of the times and locations of thousands of drivers. The Mounties have said they could use the system to check people's alibis if they are accused of a crime in the future.
That's also against the law, Denham warned. The B.C. government wouldn't support the move either, Justice Minister Shirley Bond said Thursday.
There are currently 43 licence plate cameras on B.C. police vehicles, including those of Saanich police and the Capital Region Integrated Road Safety Unit.
The cameras can record up to 3,000 licence plates an hour, although VicPD says it averages about 500.
The cameras flag stolen vehicles, wanted people, prohibited drivers and uninsured vehicles.
There's also an "other pointer" category, which highlights people who are accused of crimes, engaged in court action or child-custody disputes, missing, on parole, have past firearms infractions, have previously tried to commit suicide, are a high risk for violence or are known associates of a criminal.
That category should be narrowed to only traffic-related violations, said Denham.
It's unclear whether VicPD will follow Denham's advice.
Victoria Police Chief Jamie Graham said the camera system has "paid tremendous dividends" by flagging unsafe drivers.
"However, the department respectfully disagrees with certain elements of the commissioner's characterization of how the ALPR program functions," Graham said in a statement.
VicPD transfers its non-hit data to the RCMP "for the sole purpose of its destruction," said Graham, who has previously stated he's strongly in favour of keeping all the non-hit driver data as well.
Denham's recommendations don't apply to the RCMP, which falls under federal jurisdiction.
The RCMP is reviewing Denham's report, but believes it "contains inaccurate information," said Supt. Denis Boucher, who runs RCMP provincial traffic services.
"The non-hit data collected by the officers is not used in any way, shape or form," he said in an email.
The licence plate cameras remain a valuable public safety tool, he said.
Denham's investigation was prompted by three Victoria researchers - Rob Wipond, Christopher Parsons and Kevin McArthur.
Wipond said the commissioner "hit some of the most important issues."
"[She] seemed to conclude some of the same things we thought, which essentially was that parts of the program were illegal," he said.
Wipond said he hopes the report leads to a broad discussion about whether people want police using automated licence plate cameras.
