Body cams to bolster trust?

UPDATE: 12:59 p.m.

Kamloops Mounties will be equipped with body-worn cameras starting in early December — a move the city’s top cop thinks will help bolster “public trust” in the detachment.

Supt. Jeff Pelley told reporters on Wednesday that 115 frontline Kamloops Mounties will begin using the cameras in their daily work starting next month.

He said training will be staggered over the next few months.

“In Kamloops, residents will start to see the cameras in our community and on our uniformed officers following the training that's been received,” Pelley said. “We go live, as each officer is trained, commencing Dec. 9.”

The cameras will be worn during a Mountie's entire shift, only recording once a button is pushed down for three seconds.

Officers will be required to be recording when an officer attends a call for service.

“Basically, when an officer arrives for a call for service, it's a seat belt off and camera on at the earliest opportunity during the interaction,” Pelley said.

“Officers will notify individuals that they're being recorded. There are times when the officer may obstruct the lens, but those reasons would need to be articulated, such as in situations where there is a high expectation of privacy.”

Pelley said members of the public can ask a Mountie to turn off their camera, but doing so will be at the officer’s discretion.

City will cover costs

Pelley said each of the 115 cameras cost about $3,000 — a $345,000 bill that will be sent to the City of Kamloops.

Nationally, the body-worn camera project is funded by the federal government’s 2020 commitment to the RCMP to provide $238.5 million over six years with an additional $50 million annually in operating funding.

Pelley told reporters he is not aware how those funds are being spent.

“I can't speak to where the federal government has spent the money, and there were strict parameters with regards to that, and we're working with our municipalities and our financial partners to follow up on that,” Pelley said.

The cameras have to be replaced every 30 months.

Consequences unclear

Pelley said no local Mounties have expressed any objection to wearing body cameras.

He said the recording devices will increase public trust in police, bit he did not have an answer when asked about how to ensure officers are recording.

Asked what consequences an officer would face for failing to activate their body-worn camera and how many infractions would warrant discipline, Pelley said measures would be taken, but did not have an answer to what that would be.

“I can't say what the consequences would be if an officer was repeatedly on and off,” Pelley said. “We have to examine the case-by-case.”

Pelley said the onus will be on each individual officer to ensure the cameras are kept charged. At the end of their shifts they will be required to leave them on a charging dock.

The footage will be downloaded and transcribed, then entered into a disclosure process in the event an investigation be advanced for charge recommendations to Crown counsel, Pelley said.

Footage is to be stored anywhere from 30 months to two years and beyond, depending on the nature of the investigation.

Release of footage possible

When it comes to releasing the body-worn footage publicly, Pelley said the video will be treated the same as an RCMP officer’s notes and other evidence gathered — subject to Canadian privacy laws.

He said when it comes to releasing footage publicly through the media, it will only be considered “in exceptional circumstances” such as emergency situations or where withholding a recording would seriously undermine the public confidence.

“One opportunity could be for an investigative aspect,” Pelley said.

“For an example, if an officer was assaulted and a suspect flees and we don't know the identity of that individual, then we may look at circumstances like that, or if there's a greater public risk where we need to get some information to the public or assist us with an active investigation.”

Kamloops was eager to start

Pelley said his detachment was one of the first to express interest in implementing the cameras.

“In Kamloops, we see the body-worn cameras as a tool to help improve our interactions with the public, enhance evidence gathering, increase public trust in police and resolve public complaints more quickly,” Pelley said.

“The cameras will also help make things safer for our officers by capturing audio and video versions of all interactions and contributing to the behavioural change that can come when people know their actions are being recorded and can be used as evidence.”

ORIGINAL STORY: 4 a.m.

The Kamloops RCMP is holding a press conference Wednesday morning to discuss the local rollout of body-worn cameras to its frontline officers.

Mounties are rolling out the initiative nationwide after numerous calls for the recording devices, which police say will increase transparency with the public, increase police accountability and enhance safety and evidence gathering.

Supt. Jeff Pelley is expected to present information related to the local rollout of police body cameras at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Kamloops is one of a number of detachments that is receiving the cameras first, chosen because it is a large detachment that is equipped to handle the technical requirements of the recording devices, according to the RCMP.

The BC RCMP will distribute body cameras to 144 detachments in 150 municipalities that make up 75 per cent of the provincial population. They plan to distribute 3,000 cameras over the next 12 to 18 months across the province.

The cameras will be activated by officers before exiting their vehicles whenever attending a call for service, and are expected to be in use by all frontline RCMP officers by early 2026.