By Cheryl Jahn

RCMP body-worn cameras coming to PG in early December

Nov 28, 2024 | 3:11 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – It’s not much bigger than a cell phone, mounted on the front vest of a front-line police officer. It’s a body-worn camera and they’re coming to Prince George detachment soon. Very soon. In fact, a hundred of such cameras have just arrived.

“Prince George RCMP will be rolling out our body-worn camera program beginning on December the eighth,” explains Cpl. Jennifer Cooper with the Prince George Detachment. “Our first frontline police officers will start to receive their training that morning, and you can expect to see cameras on police officers likely in the later afternoon, December 8. And then going forward as we train each of our four watches, as well as many of our support sections will be taking part in the training as well.”

The RCMP set the wheels in motion roughly two years ago. Prince George has been chosen as one of the sites in BC to pilot their use. The first detachment in Northern BC to do so.

“I think the implementation of the body-worn cameras will enhance public trust,” says Supt. Darin Rappel. “It will provide an objective first-person view of the interaction that a police officer is having with a member of our community. It’ll be available then for it for the courts. If the file proceeds that way or perhaps in an oversight capacity. An example would be the IIO if they had requirements for something along those lines, or perhaps in a public complaint.”

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And there is a bill for the city.

“It’s going to be about $3,000 per unit for the RCMP to wear them,” says Councillor Garth Frizzell. “So Public Safety Canada manages all of this. They’re the ones who chose us for this pilot program, and they’re the ones who identified the particular type of body camera that’s appropriate for our geography, that can do the type of recording, the high quality, the audio or the video that they require for the courts.”

When the concept of having Prince George pilot the use of these cameras, there were early concerns about the additional workload they would create.

“It will bring additional workload. There’s no doubt about it. Members will now have to, when they return to the office, there will be a requirement to use that video, attach it to a specific file so that it can later be recalled.”

There are very specific disclosure policies in place for who can access the videos: Naturally the courts and offices like the Independent Investigations Office and other oversight bodies.