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A new generation of erotic novels aimed at women prompts praise and criticism. Page A3
A Claremont grad and training partner of Simon Whitfield is fast becoming a new threat in triathlon. Page A14
Friday, August 3, 2012
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Despite geese, regional lakes clean enough for swimmers Natalie North News staff
In July 2011 in the week leading up to the Self Transcendence Triathlon held at Elk Lake, high bacteria levels caused by Canada Geese droppings sparked a water quality warning from the Vancouver Island Health Authority. That warning was lifted just minutes before the triathlon start and the event went as planned. This year, despite an increase in geese on the lake as observed by the Capital Regional District parks staff, bacteria levels are well within what’s considered safe for swimming. “(Fecal coliform levels) are almost always related to the geese, especially once the bathers go away,” said Erwin Dyck, supervisor of environmental health officers for the Vancouver Island Health Authority. “If you go in the evenings, you’ll see (geese) just congregating where it’s easy to get out of the water.” Human activity will add to some of the contamination, but geese are responsible for the bulk of the bacteria levels, Dyck added. The CRD has contracted a dog handler to haze geese from the beaches at Elk and Beaver lakes. Fecal coliform levels are considered high when bacteria measurements exceed 200 cfu (colonyforming units) per 100 ml of water. At Elk Lake park’s popular Hamsterly Beach, the latest reading hit 36 cfu. PLEASE SEE: Bacteria counts, Page A5
Saanich police Const. Janis Carmena, with the department’s traffic safety unit, shows off the automated licence plate reader, which scans licence plates and alerts officers of prohibited drivers and uninsured vehicles. The B.C. privacy commissioner is investigating how Victoria police use the technology. Kyle Slavin/News staff
Plate readers drive privacy worries Privacy commissioner launches investigation into how data is used Daniel Palmer News staff
Is Big Brother really watching you? Three Victoria privacy advocates have spent the past two years trying to answer that question, digging up scraps of information on a controversial police technology called the automated licence plate recognition system. “We have been stymied at every level,” said Chris Parsons, a University of Victoria PhD candidate specializing in privacy issues.
The device uses police cruiser-mounted cameras to automatically capture up to 3,000 licence plates per hour. It then notifies officers of a “hit” on prohibited owners, as well as stolen and uninsured vehicles. The technology is used throughout British Columbia and administered by the RCMP. In Greater Victoria, VicPD, Saanich police and the Integrated Road Safety Unit deploy it on a regular basis. What makes the program so concerning to critics is that data collected from “non-hit” vehicles is kept on encrypted RCMP servers for two years. Although it’s not used, the information could be referenced for investigative purposes to retrace vehicle movements. The RCMP insists such actions are not tak-
ing place, but the Mountie in charge of the program, Supt. Denis Boucher, said his office is considering expanding the program. “It’s called function creep,” Parsons said. “That means every citizen that drives, they want to be able to track who they are and where they’re at.” Parsons claims that the information is already being cross-referenced with child custody and other court records unrelated to driving infractions, but Boucher denies this. “It doesn’t flag somebody simply because he’s got a criminal record,” Boucher said. “These are for hits where we have outstanding action to be taken against an individual.” PLEASE SEE: Reader ‘proven its worth’, Page A13
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