An Ontario man has made an appeal against a City of Hamilton order to remove personal security cameras that are mounted outside his home.
Dan Myles, who lives on MacNab Street North, said his 10 cameras have been up for seven years and that they have been a valuable tool for assisting in solving crimes.
“I’ve actually participated in evidence sharing of three homicides on these cameras, over 40 break and enters, multiple home invasions, car break and enters, assaults, you name it,” Myles said.
“I’ve given up over 40 videos to the Hamilton Police Services themselves, who have come here in person and asked me for them.”
Myles said he believes someone put a complaint in to the City of Hamilton over his cameras, as content from them was posted to his Instagram page. He said he pulled down the content but that a complaint to the city was still made.
“If anybody comes to me and says, ‘Hey, I don’t want to be on this.’ I take it off, especially my neighbours, right? Because if they don’t want to be on there, I take them off immediately, I respect their wishes. You have to. That’s just logical,” Myles said.
The city then sent him a letter ordering him to take the cameras down and comply with the bylaw, he said.
A City of Hamilton bylaw prohibits residents from having surveillance devices that can view or listen beyond the perimeter of the land actually owned, leased or rented by the occupant.
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Myles said he then appealed the order from the city, which he had to pay for.
On Monday morning, Myles said he received an email from the city indicating he could be exempt if he provided a number of items. These included a letter of support from his landlord, signed permission from neighbouring homes that are captured on the cameras, screenshots from the cameras, and police reports regarding crime in the area that support a need for them.
Myles said most of his neighbours, including a church parking lot, support his cameras and want them facing their properties, with the exception of one, and he said he plans on re-angling the camera to avoid that property.
He said his cameras don’t prevent crime but that they’ve been used in investigations, including a homicide involving alleged serial killer Sabrina Kauldhar.
“Sabrina Kauldhar was behind that fence right there where that sign is … and then ran behind this and through our backyard on video,” Myles told Global News, describing the area.
He also said his video helped with a high-speed fatal crash case where a man was struck and killed at an intersection near the home. The accused was later convicted of dangerous driving causing death.
“The crash investigator actually just messaged me, emailed me and said, ‘Without your video, we would have had nothing. Thank you so much,’” Myles said.
In a statement, Hamilton police said they “appreciate both residential and commercial CCTV camera images.”
“We thank the public for their overwhelming support and interest in helping to keep our community safe,” police said.
Meanwhile, the City of Hamilton responded to Global News on Tuesday morning, reiterating the city bylaw.
“The City of Hamilton remains committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of all residents and the City’s Fortification Bylaw 10-122 supports this responsibility,” the city said, adding it did issue an order to the property address on MacNab Street North.
“To comply with this Order, the homeowner has the option to either reposition or remove their cameras,” the city said. “Policy exemptions to the bylaw include the use of doorbell and other type cameras which capture adjacent public property, provided they do not capture adjacent private property.”
When it comes to the cameras, Myles said he feels like they are needed.
“My family. I worry about my family constantly here. And my neighbours, too. It’s imperative that I have these. That’s all I got. I don’t own a gun. I don’t own any type of protection. This is it.”
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