Beginning Monday, select Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers will begin wearing body cameras..In March, the UCP government mandated the use of body-worn cameras by all police officers. Working towards this mandate, the EPS is set to begin a six-month trial of the cameras starting next week..In total, 35 officers working with Transit and Community Safety Teams, the Healthy Streets Operations Centre Community Safety Teams (CST) and the High-Risk Encampment Teams (HRET) will wear cameras..EPS will test various technologies to determine what capabilities best meet the organization’s needs and will then issue a request for proposal to select the most suitable vendor..The goals of the program are multifaceted, but overall aim to create a more efficient accountability process and reduce the use of incidents using force for both officers and the public..The EPS said some of the anticipated outcomes include increasing transparency, reducing unfounded allegations of police misconduct, increasing public trust and confidence in the EPS and enhancing officer accountability and professionalism..“We’ve heard from many of our members that they are looking forward to wearing cameras and are hopeful that it will improve officer safety by affecting the behaviour of the individuals they interact with and subsequently de-escalating situations,” said Superintendent Derek McIntyre with the EPS Crime Suppression and Investigations Division..“Video can be a helpful and beneficial tool for all parties in police interactions and will hopefully also assist investigators by improving evidence collection, documentation, early case resolution and successful prosecution.”.The EPS said the teams selected were intentional, as they will provide a broad snapshot of a large and varying number of police interactions in "complex environments with citizens from various communities.".This will allow the EPS to assess the operational impacts of the cameras and identify any gaps and areas for improvements, such as what resources and processes are needed to support an effective program service-wide..“We have heard from citizens that they have concerns with some of our interactions with our most vulnerable communities, so these teams were a natural place to begin our trial,” McIntyre said..“In addition, these teams will allow us to trial the cameras while working closely with our many valued community partners whose feedback on how we implement them is important.”.What to expect.Citizens interacting with officers on these teams will notice a camera affixed to the front of their uniforms..The cameras are approximately the size of a deck of playing cards and officers will begin recording when they start a public interaction such as when they start investigating an individual; or when they are asking a person questions to collect their information..While not legally required to do so, officers will do their best to advise citizens when they are being recorded..The camera will be turned off at the conclusion of an officer’s interaction with the public or when they determine that continuous recording is no longer serving its intended purpose..At the end of every shift, the EPS said all officers will dock their cameras and footage will automatically be uploaded to a designated secure storage location..Recorded data cannot be altered or deleted at any time, and all footage will be logged and submitted as part of disclosure to the Crown when charges are laid.
