The Town of Gravenhurst is teaming up with the OPP to promote the CAMsafe program after a string of break-and-enters downtown.
Wade Beebe, detachment commander for the Bracebridge OPP, made a presentation to town council on June 18. After providing general updates about the detachment, he explained the CAMSafe program, which has business owners and residents register cameras on their property as a resource for police investigations. The OPP investigated nine break-and-enter cases in downtown Gravenhurst in the two weeks leading up to the council meeting. While police have two perpetrators in custody, the culprits took longer to identify due to a lack of camera footage.
“We’re not accessing the cameras, we’re asking for the data, so if there’s locations such as Gravenhurst where we have multiple break-and-enters downtown and people have registered cameras, we can ask them for their footage,” Beebe said.
The program helps fulfill the need for community partnership, which the OPP could use after the recent string of thefts, Beebe said. Police used covert operations, foot patrols, focused patrols, emergency response teams and more to arrest the two men behind the break-ins, but the process could have been shortened and simplified with better footage.
In the CAMSafe program, officers will check the system after an incident to see who is registered in the geographical area of the crime. They can then contact the owners of the cameras or CCTV systems with details about the footage they need.
Those who opt-in for the program have the choice of whether to provide footage if approached by police since officers won’t have any direct access to the cameras in the registry. Beebe said any camera is better than no camera system, so he encourages locals with cameras new and old to register.
“I’ve done lots of foot patrol in Gravenhurst since I’ve been here, and there’s not a lot of businesses that actually have cameras,” he said. “Not even the banks have cameras outside.”
After Beebe’s presentation, council voted on a motion moved by Mayor Heidi Lorenz and seconded by District Councillor Erin Strength. The motion called for the creation of a program to provide local businesses with subsidized camera systems so they can more easily participate in CAMSafe.
The town will run the program through the Community Improvement Program (CIP), though it will operate separately from its regular intake. Up to $5,000 from the CIP reserve will be used to purchase cameras for business owners on a first-come-first-serve basis.
“We like to have good relationships with our policing partners and so I think this is a great program,” Lorenz said. “Hopefully, people will participate and deplete those funds quickly.”
Council would be glad to see the funds used up, so Lorenz said they will revisit the need for additional funding if the program gets a good response. CAMSafe originally launched in Belleville and has continued to grow since partnering with the OPP in 2022.
Scott Lucas, Gravenhurst’s chief administrative officer, said there are existing technology-based grants within the CIP, so town staff won’t be starting from scratch. Following unanimous approval of the motion, they’re working to put together an application process and awareness campaign.
“As the seconder to the motion, I think this is a great investment in the safety of the downtown core and the businesses,” said Councillor Strength. “I hope that it’s good seed money to get the program going.”
Visit the Town of Gravenhurst’s Youtube to watch the council meeting from June 18.