Just one day after a brazen shootout in downtown Toronto, seven new surveillance cameras are set to go into operation.

Already there are at least eight cameras in the area of the shootout. The new cameras will capture images in a different area, in the eastern end of the downtown.

During the shootout on Tuesday morning police estimate as many as five guns were used and 40 shots were fired. They hope some of the gunbattle was caught on the nearby security cameras.

Police say surveillance cameras are sometimes an effective crime deterrent. At other times they can provide police with important clues. 

"There's a camera on the corner," said Det. Peter Karpow, pointing out the highly placed security measures. "There's another camera down the street and there's probably individual businesses [that] have video cameras," he said.

While forensic investigators measured the size of bullet holes along Adelaide Street West, Karpow said he is having a tough time getting witnesses to come forward. He's counting on video on from the cameras to help with the investigation.

"Hopefully," he said, "because so far the human race hasn't stepped up to the plate." 

One man, an innocent bystander, was wounded in the shooting. His injuries are reported to be minor.

So far, police have not made any arrests.

Mark Pugash, spokesman for the Toronto police, says the cameras, in general, are effective.

"Are they going to solve, or are they going to deter every crime? Of course not. But there are so many examples, not only of where they have detected crime, but where they have provided excellent evidence," said Pugash.

Joe Waitinger who manages properties in the theatre district, says criminals know how to hide from the cameras when they want to.

"It does help in some instances, but these people know about it so they cover up," he said. "They're wearing hoods. They don't care." 

The new cameras are part of a pilot project that ends next April. After that, Toronto police will crunch the numbers to see whether crime drops at the corners where the cameras have been keeping watch.