Tasha Potter doesn't believe security cameras installed in downtown Preston this summer will make a lick of difference in deterring what the business owner has had to deal with over the last two months.
"If cameras worked, we wouldn't have any crime," says the manager of Mr. Sub, expressing frustration following a string of break-ins to the King Street East business in late June and July. La Lola Catering and Wuddup Dog were also hit by a series of break ins and vandalism that has prompted police to increase patrols in the area as a deterrent.
The smash and grabs at Mr. Sub resulted in $4,000 in losses and damage, and forced Potter to add bars to the front entrance.
But even after the city-owned cameras were installed last month, including signage about their presence, Potter said she's had to clean up the alley behind Mr. Sub twice after finding it littered with drug paraphernalia, used condoms and other garbage.
"Do I feel safer? Not really," Potter added, critical of the $200,000 measure first initiated in Galt in 2018 as a way to combat crime in that core.
Soon after the cameras were installed, the city became the subject of a complaint to the information and privacy commissioner.
The scrutiny forced the city to come up with a policy on how the cameras will be used, how the information will be stored, and how it can be accessed.
That policy was adopted last fall, well in advance of the installation of 10 additional cameras in downtown Preston last month.
Todd Johns shares Potter's skepticism that more surveillance cameras will help what he feels is a growing problem.
Increasing crime is one of the reasons he shut the doors on his business Wuddup Dog earlier this month.
The longtime Preston business owner announced he was closing his restaurant in the spring, but two recent break-ins within a week added to his woes and confirmed he'd made the right decision.
Johns, whose health issues forced him to reassess his priorities, has gone back to the mobile dog cart and the flexibility it offers.
"The two break-ins in a week was the ... final straw," said the former King Street East business owner. "I used to like being able to bring my daughter to work every day. Now I just don't feel safe doing it."
Cameras won't help, he said, knowing that his own security footage has captured criminals in the act but police, to his knowledge, never acted on it.
Johns' disappointment doesn't rest solely with police and the city. The real gut punch comes from knowing the people he made efforts to help are now stealing from him.
"I was giving out 10 to 15 free meals a day," he said. "We had a 'bare-bones combo.' Regular fries, hot dog, ketchup, mustard, relish and water. But you bite the hand that feeds, it doesn't taste as good as the food you're given."
A few years ago, he pitched the idea of Preston business owners pooling their money together to hire a security firm to patrol the streets after hours. But the idea didn't gain traction.
"It might have cost $15-$20 a month if we got enough businesses on board. Just a guy to walk around to observe and report. If you see something, call the police."
He watched, frustrated after the recent break-in to Wuddup Dog, as police nabbed the suspect across the road, only to release him a few minutes later on a "promise to appear."
"You really think this guy's going to show up in court?," Johns asks.
Despite hearing skepticism from business owners, Ward 4 councillor and mayoral candidate Jan Liggett, believes the cameras will make a difference in Preston and were used recently to positively identify a suspect in a crime that occurred in downtown Galt.
She told CambridgeToday that while the cameras in Galt and Preston are not actively watched, they are a tool that can be used following an incident.
Police will likely be reviewing footage captured Saturday morning in the area of Main and Water streets in downtown Galt after a woman was robbed at knifepoint by two men.
"That is where the value of their effectiveness would be weighed," Liggett said. "Cameras installed on businesses and homes when used in conjunction with city cameras are the best weapons we have currently to deter and convict criminals."
Retiring councillor for the Preston ward that encompasses the core, Mike Mann, agreed, saying that as a retired police officer he sees the benefit of security cameras.
"Unfortunately we have seen an increase in crime of late in the core areas and cameras will definitely aid police in any investigation," he said, in an emailed response.
"Anyone who knows they are there should think twice about doing anything," Mann said. "If they don’t know and do something illegal, they will find out in short order."
Waterloo Regional Police Service is happy to take all the help it can get to curb crime in the city's cores.
Cherri Greeno, manager of corporate communications for the service confirmed over the phone that police have used "any and all security footage," including city surveillance video to successfully identify suspects.
She expects the same will happen in Preston.
"We often put out portions of video to the public as well when asking for assistance in identifying a possible suspect," she added.
"Zone officers" are assigned to Preston and Galt 24/7, she said. "They're on foot, they're on bikes, they're in cars. Those are cars that are marked and unmarked," Greeno said.
If police determine crime has spiked in a certain areas, extra patrols will also be assigned.
"In response to the rash of break-ins, we have increased our enforcement," she said.
In response to criticism about police releasing suspects immediately after arrest, Greeno said police are following Criminal Code requirements and consider "a number of factors" before determining whether a person can be held in custody for what's called a show-cause hearing.
"Officers must give primary consideration to the release of an accused person and at the earliest reasonable opportunity and on the least onerous conditions that are appropriate in the circumstances," Greeno wrote in an emailed response to CambridgeToday, citing a section of the Criminal Code.
