Last week, the Toronto Transit Commission announced plans to install over 10,000 security cameras throughout the city’s transit system by next June. Every one of the TTC’s 1.5 million daily riders will be photographed on streetcars, buses, subways, and at every exit of each TTC station.
No sooner had the plan been announced than did public outcry arise about the “invasion of privacy” the cameras supposedly represent. London-based activist group Privacy International filed a formal complaint with Ontario’s privacy commissioner, and people flooded message boards to complain that “Big Brother is watching us” and “1984 is coming true.”
While it might sound cool in that “Hey I’ve read a book!” kind of way to liken TTC chairman Adam Giambrone to Orwell’s Head Comrade, the analogy simply doesn’t hold up. Totalitarians, both real and fictitious, surveil their citizens in order to eliminate the part of their lives which is private, ensuring that they must always act as model citizens.
But the TTC is not invading anyone’s private life by installing these cameras, because in case you haven’t noticed, there’s never been anything private about riding the TTC.
During a 30-minute rush hour ride, a Toronto commuter is seen by thousands of people, who are able, should they wish, to discreetly watch you and think all kinds of creepy things. Not only do your fellow passengers see you, they may actually touch you too, not to mention breathe/slobber/fart on you. A guy actually licked me in a subway station once. And no, it wasn’t because I asked him to.
TTC riders have about as much privacy as cattle in a feedlot. Will a few more pairs of eyes watching us really make a difference? Besides, the cameras’ won’t be monitored regularly. The tapes will only be reviewed should a crime take place on the TTC. Only police will have access to the footage.
Privacy International is claiming that the new cameras aren’t in the public interest because they will do little to deter crime. Whether or not increased surveillance actually leads to lower crime rates is up for debate— they certainly didn’t prevent terrorist bombings in London, one of the most heavily monitored cities on the planet, and regions’ crime rates don’t necessarily correspond with the number of cameras per capita.
But it’s hard to imagine the TTC’s new cameras won’t help catch criminals after the fact. This past April, a 21-year-old man was stabbed to death on a subway at Victoria Park station. In that case, security footage led to an arrest. Last week, a man randomly stabbed four people on Queen Street. He was arrested within hours because he was captured on the security cameras of local businesses.
If the police and the TTC think that 10,000 cameras will help fight crime, who cares? What’s the difference if the guy across the aisle wasn’t the only one who saw you pick your nose at that last stop?
