RCMP to begin deployment of body-worn cameras

Select RCMP detachments across Canada began to employ the use of body-worn cameras as of Nov. 18, which was announced on Nov. 14.

Approximately 1,000 front line officers per month over the next nine months will be outfitted with body-worn cameras and the RCMP’s new digital evidence management system. 

The goal will be to see 90 per cent of frontline members using the cameras prior to the end of 2025, and full deployment will be completed within the next 18 months. 

“Body-worn cameras for law enforcement is not a new concept, although it is new for the RCMP. I think it is going to be a valuable tool with respect to our members’ ability to collect evidence, but also to increase transparency with the public and of course, strengthen and maintain trust amongst our partners,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Wielgosz, detachment commander of the Strathmore RCMP. “I think we have very strong relationships within the community. Our members work with a high degree of professionalism and integrity. We do recognize that we are in a digital age – courts as well as people are increasingly more relying on digital and video type evidence, so it is something that we are evolving along with the times to ensure that we are capturing the best evidence that we can.”

The body-worn cameras will serve as an independent, unbiased and objective way to capture interactions between communities and police officers. This will also aid to resolve public complaints more expediently and improve evidence gathering. 

Officers will be required to activate their cameras before arriving at a call for service such as a crime in progress, investigations, public disorder and protests, mental health calls, interactions with people in crisis, and to record information to support the performance of officers’ duties.

When possible, officers are to inform the public when the camera is recording. This will also be visually indicated by red lights flashing below the lens on the camera.

Body cameras will not be utilized for 24-hour recordings, surveillance, strip searches or internal body cavity searches, and in areas with high expectations for privacy such as hospitals, in washrooms, religious places or in treatment centres. 

“The ability to have video-recorded evidence is often helpful when discussing concerns with persons or clients who have concerns with how we provide service,” said Wielgosz. “At times when we are responding to calls for service, it is a highly charged situation, a lot of emotions are flowing and certainly people have different perceptions of how things unfold based on perhaps their experience physically or psychologically, or depending on their backgrounds … I think having video evidence does bring another unbiased view to how things unfold.”

Wielgosz did not have an explicit timeline as for when Strathmore RCMP would begin operating with regular use of body cameras.

More information regarding the deployment and use of body cameras is available online through public RCMP resources.