New business CCTV registry rolled out by City of Kelowna prompts concerns

Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas is rolling out what city officials are calling a new business CCTV registry, but the initiative appears to be a relaunch of a program that already existed.

The registry is being promoted as part of a five-point plan announced Tuesday to help address crime in the city.

“We are launching the new business CCTV registry to help the RCMP identify nearby cameras during investigations,” Dyas said during the announcement.

But a look back suggests the idea isn’t new.

A similar program was introduced six years ago under a previous mayor and council. A pilot CCTV registry was launched in 2020 with the same goal, helping police quickly locate security footage during investigations. According to a report at the time, 51 cameras were registered as part of that pilot.

“It doesn’t take a lot of research to find out that nothing new is coming to the table,” said Todd Daniels, owner of Gallery Streetwear in downtown Kelowna.

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“It’s just kind of recycling the same rhetoric they had before,” he said. “There was nothing new, and I think a lot of people at the (business forum) knew that. We’re well read and studied.”

The City of Kelowna is calling the registry a new launch, but did not make anyone available to clarify how it differs from the previous programs.

Daniels also questioned why initiatives like this appear to fade away, only to resurface later.

“It’s a little weird, isn’t it?” he said. “Things get quiet, they go bye-bye. But as soon as things ramp up and people start saying something, they come back.”

While the registry is designed to speed up police investigations, some business owners question whether it will lead to meaningful results.

“We can give CCTV footage anytime when they want it,” said Srikanth Velvella, owner of Twice the Dice Board Game Café and Bar.

“But what’s going to happen? We need to see results. And there is no result. There is no point in doing anything, it’s wasting our time.”

As the city rolls out the registry, businesses say real change will depend on action beyond City Hall, including consequences that extend past identification alone.