The RCMP expects officers in three parts of the country to start field-testing body-worn cameras in the coming days.
Members of the RCMP in Nova Scotia, Nunavut and Alberta will have audio and video from the cameras captured and uploaded onto a digital evidence management system.
The RCMP says up to 300 cameras will be rolled out in those locations, and these field tests will be used to help inform the broader use of body cameras in RCMP attachments across the country.
That national rollout is not expected for another 18 months, but the RCMP says that when it happens, the standard will be for Mounties to wear the cameras when working on the front lines.
Regina Police Chief Evan Bray believes one day, Regina Police Service officers will follow in the RCMP’s footsteps and wear body-worn cameras.
“It’s about when you step into that because there is a fairly significant expense to it. I think that’s what lots of police services, along with their board of governors, that’s what they struggle with. What’s the right time to do it?”
He said the expense associated with body-worn cameras is the major hurdle in front of them.
In a November 2021 report brought before the Regina Board of Police Commissioner, it was estimated that body-worn cameras would cost over $1.2 million per year to operate, along with a nearly $1 million start-up equipment purchase as well as the human resource costs of reviewing the video as well as training officers on how to use the cameras.
A significant portion of that cost is the footage’s storage, estimated to cost $600,000 annually.
“Any piece of evidence that we store, especially if it’s electronic evidence, we have to make sure it’s secure,” Bray said. “It’s not as simple as going online and using a free cloud-based storage system. We have a high level of security to protect not only the evidence but to protect the information that we’re gathering, and there’s a cost to that.”
Police say the cameras can help increase trust between law enforcement and communities because the captured footage provides an authentic lens on interactions between officers and the public.
Bray said he agrees that body-worn cameras provide many positives, but the RPS is weighing the pros and cons of body-worn cameras and when would be the right time to make the investment.
“Anything that we can do to enhance accountability for police, and transparency for what we do with the public, I think, is a really positive thing, but the other side of that is to understand how many times are we having challenges,” he said. “How big is the problem that we’re trying to solve before we put something as costly in place as body cams.”
“I’m not going to say we don’t have public complaints because we do, but they are very limited in terms of the numbers that we get each and every year,” he continued. “There’s no doubt body camera would be able to give some definitive evidence to prove or disprove those complaints.”
Among the positives, Bray lists helping increase trust and transparency, the ability to review calls for service, making complaints easier to investigate, leading to officers being protected from false allegations as well as the public from false allegations, and the ability to use the footage in an investigation and court.
Bray noted that it’s not just about seeing officers’ interactions with the public but also how they interact with officers.
“There’s also the change in behaviour that can happen. While I know lots of people will say, well, it probably changes the actions of the officers, you’d be surprised how often it also changes the actions of the people interacting with the officers.”
“We had a group of youths who were just causing a disturbance in the city, and when our officers got there, they were, they were quite disrespectful to the police. They were shouting obscenities. They were given the finger, and I wonder if the presence of body cams changes that behaviour or not. It may not, but it might have as well.”
He said it’s also important to have perspective and context when viewing footage because, without it, an officer’s actions may look “unreasonable.”
Bray pointed out an example where officers attended a report of an assault with that individual threatening others and himself.
“He wasn’t going to go down easily and didn’t want the police called. Knowing all of that, driving to that call for service, those officers are in their heads starting to think about how we are going to take this person safely into custody while protecting and maintaining his safety and health, as well as all of those that are in the house and ours as well,” he said. “You don’t get that on video, but what you do get is them getting out of the car, going up to the house, and making the arrest.”
“Not having that background context, I think it could be dangerous because it doesn’t paint the whole picture.”
Bray noted in some cases; officers have been narrating the footage to provide context to the situations they are in and the actions they are taking, something he believes can be distracting for officers.
Overall, Bray said knowing the pros and cons of body-worn cameras; he views them as something positive for both the public and for police.
“Generally speaking, I think body cameras are a positive, and it just needs to be balanced with the expectations and needs of the community, along with the costs that come along. I think the decision on whether or not we go to body cams is one that will be made collaboratively between the Regina Police Service and the Regina Board of Police Commissioners.”
As for when body-worn cameras could appear, Bray said it wouldn’t be for at least the next couple of years but stated they would eventually come to the Queen City.
“I think what we’re trying to weigh is a fairly significant cost to the City of Regina, and does it match the level of the problem or the issue that we have? I think that’s part of the conversation that we’re at right now, and at some point, I do believe we’ll step into this new piece of technology.”
Another option to see the RPS have body-worn cameras is if the Saskatchewan Government follows in the footsteps of the RCMP and the Alberta Government, who have both committed to seeing body-worn cameras on all officers. However, direction has yet to be made from the province.
