The officer in charge of the RCMP detachment in Mission, B.C., says he’s grateful that Mounties in his community will be among the first to wear body cameras to record police interactions with the public.
Insp. Ted Lewko says 44 cameras will be used by his officers starting next week, and he’s “very hopeful” that they will improve officer safety, strengthen trust with the public and help resolve complaints more quickly.
Police announced the rollout of the cameras in Surrey on Thursday, detailing how thousands of Mounties across the province will soon be fitted with the devices.
Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald, commanding officer of the RCMP’s E Division in B.C., says the initiative is the “largest and most ambitious rollout of body cameras across the province.”
McDonald says calls for body-worn cameras came from “local, regional, Indigenous and provincial leaders to address the overall need to enhance public trust” in policing, and the cameras are part of a national standard for members of the RCMP.
Mounties say about 300 cameras will be issued to officers in Mission, Tofino, Ucluelet, Cranbrook, Kamloops and Prince George.
The body-worn cameras and Digital Evidence Management Services (DEMS) will cost about $3,000 per user each year, according to the RCMP.
The police force says the national deployment of body cameras is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
How they work
The cameras are worn on the front of officers’ vests.
MacDonald said in a statement that the camera is activated when an RCMP officer responds to a call and begins to engage with the person. It has to be activated by the officer to begin recording, he added.
“When possible and when safe to do so, the officer will inform the member of the public when the camera is on,” MacDonald said.
The cameras will be placed onto a docking station at the detachment at the end of the workday, MacDonald said, and footage will be uploaded to a “secure cloud-based server.”
According to RCMP policy, the cameras have to be on and recording during service calls, including ongoing crimes and investigations, mental health calls and protest responses.
The cameras won’t be used during strip searches or body cavity searches or in settings with “a high expectation of privacy,” such as washrooms, hospitals and treatment centres, said the RCMP.
It’s unlikely the public will ever see much of the footage collected by the cameras, though the RCMP has said it might proactively disclose footage from a body-worn camera “where it is in the public interest to do so.”