An example of one of the body-worn cameras that will be used by Kamloops RCMP, starting this December. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

RCMP BODY CAMS

Body-worn cameras rolling-out next month in Kamloops

Nov 27, 2024 | 4:40 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops was recently chosen as one of the few BC cities that will see its RCMP officers start using body-worn cameras and the rollout is expected to begin next month.

But the Canadian implementation won’t look the way it does with law enforcement in other countries, where the footage often appears in news stories or videos shared to popular social media sites. In Canada, privacy laws around releasing body-worn videos to the public through news outlets or other avenues are different than what is done with police agencies in the U.S. Public disclosure of body-camera files would only be considered in exceptional circumstances, such as emergency situations.

Still, the videos are expected to be of some benefit to the Independent Investigations Office and to overall public safety.

Come December, Kamloops will have 115 uniformed officers donning the technology. There’s a price tag of about $3,000 per camera that, for now, is funded by the municipality.

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“As one of the larger RCMP detachments in B.C. we were also amongst the first detachments to express our interest in body-worn cameras,” Kamloops RCMP Superintendent Jeff Pelley stated at a media availability Wednesday (Nov. 27).

The camera will be on during an officer’s entire shift, in a continuous buffering mode, until the camera is activated by the officer.

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

When Mounties pull up to an incident, they’ll activate their cameras and let the people they’re interacting with know that they’re being recorded.

“There are times when an officer may obstruct the lens, but those reasons would need to be articulated, such as when there’s a high expectation of privacy,” adds Pelley. “The public can request the camera to be turned off but the officer will determine whether or not turning off the camera is justified based on our RCMP policy.”

The IIO’s Chief Civilian Director Jessica Berglund says it’s something the Independent Investigations Office has advocated for previously. The organization investigates when there has been serious harm or a fatality that may be connected to police action or inaction.

“The fact that officers are now going to be wearing body cameras gives us really good, objective evidence of what may have happened,” she notes.

Last year, Berglund says the IIO conducted more than 200 investigations. And she feels the addition of body-worn cameras to the police force in Kamloops is a positive move.

“I’m very interested to see when we get a case involving a member from Kamloops how that will aid or impact our investigations,” adds Berglund.

Getting Kamloops officers trained on how to use the technology will start December 9, with body-worn cameras put to work by the end of this year.