In Commission: Police commission meetings will be recorded for public viewing again

By MH Police Commission on April 15, 2023.

Some time ago, the Police Commission’s public meetings were held in the Community Boardroom (recently renamed in Blackfoot, Aahkoinnimaan ni or The Sacred Pipe) at the police station.

During that time, the commission was able to record the meetings for later viewing online. When the meetings were moved from the station into council chambers, we lost that capability. Not because of a lack of equipment, since council meetings are regularly livestreamed, but because of the complexities and cost of paying overtime for up to three city staff members to operate the system.

The commission has heard from the community that there is a desire to be able to watch recordings of the Police Commission’s public meetings since not everyone can make it in person. We started asking if this could be accomplished in an effective and economical way, and we have found at least an interim solution.

With the support from technical and IT staff from the Esplanade, the Medicine Hat Police Service’s own IT experts, and other city employees, we are very happy to advise that our next meeting, 6 p.m. on April 19 in city council chambers, will be recorded and that recording will be available to be viewed on the commission website, mhpolicecommission.ca.

You can still of course attend in person, but it is the commission’s hope that having the video also available will allow more citizens to learn about the work of the commission and how they can get involved with the important work that we do providing governance and oversight of the Medicine Hat Police Service.