Yellowknife RCMP to begin using body-worn cameras next week

RCMP officers in Yellowknife will be the first in the NWT to begin using body-worn cameras as part of a Canadawide rollout.

RJ Simpson, the territory’s justice minister and premier, told the legislature last month that body-worn cameras would be introduced to the city’s detachment in November.

This week, NWT RCMP told Cabin Radio officers in the territorial capital will begin training on the devices on November 22. After completing a one-day training course, police said officers will be equipped with a camera.

RCMP aim to have all officers in the city trained by early December.

Following the deployment of body-worn cameras in Yellowknife, NWT RCMP said they plan to roll out training and install required hardware at detachments in communities connected to the territory’s highway system, followed by those in more isolated communities.

Trenton Entwistle, manager of the RCMP’s national body-worn camera program, said the Axon cameras officers will be using have been tested to the “industry standard” of -20C but have been used in colder climates, such as Alaska, with no operational issues.

Body-worn cameras have also been tested by police officers in Nunavut.

Nationwide rollout begins Nov 18

RCMP announced the long-awaited nationwide rollout of body-worn cameras on Thursday. The national police service said starting November 18, approximately 10 percent of RCMP officers across Canada will begin using the devices at 86 detachments.

RCMP said factors considered when selecting those detachments included bandwidth, crime rates and community interest.

Taunya Goguen, director general of the RCMP’s body-worn camera program, said an average of 1,000 front-line officers will begin using the cameras each month over the next nine months.

Full deployment of the program is expected to take a year to 18 months, with half of all cameras expected to be in operation by April 2025 and 90 percent by November 2025.

“The body-worn cameras are intended to capture an accurate, unbiased audio-video account of incidents involving police,” Goguen said.

“Once implemented, we expect greater accountability and public trust, better interactions between the police and the public, improved evidence-gathering and quick resolution to public complaints.”

RCMP said officers will be required to activate their camera before arriving at a call for service, when they come into contact with a member of the public as part of an investigation, to record statements that would normally be taken in the field, and to record interactions with people in custody.

Cameras will not be used, RCMP said, during intimate searches and in places where there is a high expectation of privacy such as washrooms, hospitals and religious places. Spokespeople added the cameras are not intended for 24-hour recording and will not be used for facial recognition, surveillance or covert recording.

Insp Jordan Arthur said RCMP supervisors will be required to periodically review body camera footage. He said “actions” would be taken against officers who are found not to be adhering to policies and guidelines.

The body-worn camera program includes the rollout of a digital evidence management system across detachments.

The system will track access to videos linked to investigative files. How long those videos will be saved, RCMP said, ranges from 30 days to two years depending on the type of incident captured according to legislation.

RCMP said video recordings cannot be edited, officers cannot delete their own video evidence, and officers can only access their own recordings unless they have permission to access other video.

Recordings will only be made public, Goguen said, if the public interest outweighs the invasion of privacy of an individual, based on privacy legislation.

“It’s something we take very seriously and will be done, we expect, in limited cases given the importance to respect privacy,” she said, adding that people have the right to request access to video that contains their personal information.

The federal government has committed $238.5 million over six years – plus $50 million ongoing annually – toward the body-worn camera program.

RCMP said the cameras will be replaced every 30 months.