More police in B.C. to adopt body-worn cameras in 2024
Chad Pawson | CBC News | Posted: January 11, 2024 9:18 PM | Last Updated: January 11
Nearly 7,000 B.C. RCMP officers waiting on more field testing, procurement of cameras
The British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police (BCACP) outlined plans on Thursday to equip the province's largest pool of officers with body-worn cameras (BWC) in a bid to provide more accountability and public trust in policing.
RCMP Chief Supt. Holly Turton said some of B.C.'s nearly 7,000 officers should start using the cameras this year, although she did not provide many details over how many or when.
Last October the RCMP published, nationally, a new body-worn cameras operational policy for how the force would adopt the cameras, which several other forces have begun using to film interactions with the public.
More RCMP field testing will be completed in Alberta, Nova Scotia and Nunavut this year before the cameras are made more widely available in provinces like B.C.
Turton said RCMP will ultimately distribute up to 15,000 cameras across the country, but did not specify how many would initially be used in B.C.
She was clear though about the importance of putting the cameras in place, with the right training and policies to respect privacy.
"The call for more police transparency has been clearly articulated by the public and as police we are listening," she said. "We expect that the use of body-worn cameras will increase the public's trust in police and improve policing public behaviour."
WATCH | Top RCMP officer in B.C. explains benefits of equipping officers with body-worn cameras:
Body-worn cameras were first used in B.C. by the Delta Police Department in 2021. The force now has 21 officers wearing the cameras, with another 16 to be added in 2024.
After starting a process to adopt body-worn cameras in 2009, the Vancouver Police Department equipped 85 officers with the cameras, starting this New Year for a pilot project.
How police say the cameras will work
Officers speaking at the news conference said that, generally, the BWCs used in B.C. record video continuously on a 30-second loop, meaning they overwrite footage every half-minute, until an officer holds down a record button, which activates the camera to record video and sound until it is turned off.
The cameras are meant to be used in many different situations, such as speaking to someone in a police investigation, when violent or aggressive behaviour is expected, or assisting in de-escalation.
The VPD has a list of details about the pilot project on its website.
BWC video will be stored on a provincial digital evidence management system and will be automatically deleted after 13 months unless it is being retained as evidence in relation to an event or for training purposes, police have said.
Officers also have several ways in which they communicate to people they are interacting with that they are filming and how the video can or cannot be used.
Delta Police Deputy Chief Harj Sidhu says his force's experience with the cameras has been positive, especially in how they can help gather evidence.
"Traditionally, officers would have made observations and just put them in their notebooks but here they have a video recording of what has occurred," he said.
"We have found that around impaired driving investigations, for example, the video shows the [indications] of impairment that the individual has."
Sidhu added that the footage of suspected impaired drivers was beneficial when it came to court proceedings.
WATCH | Police officer describes using a body-worn camera after pulling over a suspected impaired driver:
Both Delta's experience and Vancouver's are being used by the BCACP to inform how cameras can be rolled out in other jurisdictions, including RCMP.
Supt. Howard Tran of the Vancouver Police Department said one of the most important aspects of getting the tool right for police and for the public is privacy and how the information from the cameras will be used.
"I can tell you in Vancouver we have developed comprehensive guidelines that recognize balancing these privacy concerns with the objective of body-worn cameras," he said.
Sidhu says it cost his force about $3,000 to equip one officer with a camera and to pay for administrative costs associated with it.
The City of Vancouver had allocated $200,000 for its pilot program, but that rose to $307,000 in November.