Thunder Bay police to install cruiser cameras

Thunder Bay police are eyeing a new way to gather evidence while at the same time potentially reducing public complaints made against them. 

Video recording systems will be installed in about 20 patrol cars next year. Each car will have two cameras, one pointing forward, the other pointing toward the rear seat.

The cameras will record an officer's interaction with motorists who are pulled over and will show any interaction with prisoners being held in the back of the cruiser.

Chief JP Levesque said the recorded pictures can be used as evidence in court. He noted a pilot project showed the number of complaints against officers also drops dramatically when cruisers are equipped with cameras.

The camera equipment will cost the police service about $100,000 to install.