RCMP body-worn cameras roll out in North

Northerners will soon see RCMP officers with cameras on their person, as training for the body-worn cameras roll out for Mounties across the country. 

Christine Grant, the body-worn camera program manager for the Yukon RCMP, says the change is something that many officers are looking forward to. 

"We're the national police force of Canada and so the relationship with the public, wanting to keep that trust there, wanting to have that with the public knowing that body-worn cameras are something being used by other police agencies, it's almost like, it's time," she said.

Grant explained that officers will record while in "lawful execution of duties". That means when they arrive at a call for service, when they're in contact with a member of the public as it pertains to an investigation, or other lawful duties. 

If an officer is at an event or in a classroom talking about drug use, for example, they wouldn't be recording. There are also times when a recording might jeopardize an individual's privacy, like when an officer is working with a victim of domestic violence on a safety plan, for example. 

Training for how and when to use body-worn cameras has already started for officers in Whitehorse. Outside the capital, Grant says, they're challenged by infrastructure. 

The recordings get uploaded into a cloud-based system and detachments need the data storage to support that. That's something they're working on.

Grant says she expects Ross River to be the next Yukon community to roll out the program and anticipates it should be in place by the end of January. 

In the Northwest Territories training has also begun, with the goal of having all Yellowknife officers equipped with body-worn cameras by early December, according to an emailed statement from Const. Josh Seaward. 

He said roll-out will continue with detachments on the highway system after Yellowknife, with detachments in more remote communities following after that. He said they already have the equipment, but that training is creating a bottleneck.

In Nunavut, police ran a pilot program for body-worn cameras in Iqaluit between 2020 and 2021.

Nunavut RCMP say they're looking to have all front-line officers wearing body-worn cameras within the next year. 

Cpl. Craig Lowe, body-worn camera program manager in Iqaluit, says the community is used to the cameras after the pilot project. 

"They know the camera's there, they know the lights are on for the camera — I think a lot of people now are getting comfortable with it," he said.

Though Grant, the Yukon program manager, says the training is comprehensive, she says she still expects there will be a learning curve and she says her team is available for questions and check-ins on what's working and what needs improvements. 

"It's just another part of the tools on your tool belt as a police officer, and I think it's going to have some good results," she said.