MONTREAL TO MONITOR DRUG-CRIME HOT SPOTS

MONTREAL -- A bank of surveillance cameras will begin monitoring activity
in a drug-ridden downtown district next month, raising concerns about
privacy implications for ordinary citizens. Politicians, business leaders
and police told a news conference the pilot project would see cameras set
up along busy St-Denis Street from May 1 to Aug. 30 -- high season for drug
transactions.

LATIN QUARTER

The city's Latin Quarter is known for its theatres, bistros and boutiques,
but it's also known as a place to buy marijuana at all hours near a subway
station.

Local borough councillor Robert Laramee said the drug dealers are driving
away business and threatening merchants.

"Let's not deny it -- these (dealers) aren't always peaceful and aren't
always polite," he told reporters as a local police commander and the head
of a merchants' association sat nearby.

"For the last few years, people have avoided the Latin Quarter. In the
past, the Latin Quarter was a place where everyone loved to come have a
coffee or enjoy a meal, but not anymore."

Other Canadian cities have turned to video surveillance to thwart crime,
prompting inquiries from federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

Montreal police Cmdr. Johanne Paquin, whose precinct will oversee the pilot
project, said the plan has been approved by the provincial privacy watchdog.

She said police would not monitor the cameras while they were rolling and
would use the footage only if someone filed a criminal complaint.