Body-worn cameras can help tone down encounters that police have with the public, Delta police said Thursday during an update hosted by B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police.
“From my experience, for the vast majority of interactions, when you tell somebody that they’re being recorded, it keeps everything at a fairly calm and even level, on both sides,” said Sgt. Jim Ingram.
It’s also better for officers during the processing of investigations because using videotape is much better than writing out notes after the fact, he added.
“There has to be a balance struck and what we’re heard from the public and the community, is that on one hand, there are expectations that the police are equipped with body cameras,” while on the other, people want privacy, and they don’t want all their interactions recorded.
Delta Police have led the way in B.C. for adopting body-worn cameras.
DPD started using body-worn cameras two years ago, the first police department in B.C. to do so, and have progressively expanded their use, starting with the interdiction team. It later expanded to the traffic section and then to frontline patrol.
The department currently has 21 body-worn cameras and will be adding another 16 this year.
Under Delta policy, police have discretion to turn on the camera if there is any value to using it for evidence purposes or for de-escalation. However, the camera must be turned on if there’s a potential for violence or aggression, Ingram said.
Ingram said that after turning on the camera and informing the member of the public, once the interaction is completed, the officer stops the recording and then uploads the video back at the office to the secure digital evidence management system.
The video is stored for 13 months unless it’s used as evidence in a prosecution. If it’s part of a case, it’s stored for as long as required.
Recently, Ingram stopped an impaired driver who refused to get out of the vehicle or open the window or interact with police. Ingram then told the driver the proceeding was being recorded and the motorist changed his mind.
Cases being reviewed by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. also could be sped up.
Vancouver Police also just announced a pilot program in which 85 officers in the traffic section along with those who work in the downtown core and in East Vancouver will begin patrolling with chest-mounted cameras.
Eventually, all front line VPD officers will have the cameras.
The BC Association of Chiefs of Police said it’s working on a coordinated approach to adding the cameras, but there’s no definite timeline on when body-worn cameras come into use at RCMP detachments in B.C.
Chief Supt. Holly Turton said that while RCMP have used body-worn cameras on a limited basis since 2010, the cameras will be field-tested sometime this year in Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Nunavut.
Assuming assessments are positive, the force then will start buying cameras and equipping their detachments in B.C. and across Canada.
Neither is there any definite timeline for other municipal forces to start using body-worn cameras, with each agency making that decision.
“We understand that while many people support the use of body-worn cameras, there are still concerns that have been expressed about how this technology will work,” said Turton. “This is why the BCACP recognized the need to collaborate, consult and to ensure that operational policing standards and policies were consistent across all police agencies in British Columbia.”
