Your next interaction with city police may be caught on camera.
Medicine Hat Police Service is launching a six-month body worn camera pilot project today that will assess the usefulness and impact of the cameras.
The project will see the deployment of six body cameras and two dashboard mounted cameras with officers assigned to the patrol section and traffic unit.
“The MHPS committed to exploring the use of video as a means of enhancing officer safety, increasing public transparency and accountability to the community,” chief Andy McGrogan states in a release.
With privacy issues, situational needs and storage capacity on the devices top of mind, the cameras will not be recording at all times. Whether or not the camera is turned on for a particular call will be at the discretion of the responding officer, who must be able to answer why the camera was or was not turned on.
The MHPS has taken privacy issues into account, and says it has closely followed the Guidance for the Use of Body-Worn Cameras by Law Enforcement Authorities, (Guide) developed and endorsed by the Privacy Commissioners across Canada and published in June 2016.
“It was important that we did not rush to implement in response to current events or trends, without careful consideration and planning. We are optimistic that this project will provide us with the necessary information required to determine the merits of service wide deployment,” McGrogan said.
A review of the project of the six months will assess the potential of the cameras in the following five areas: To enhance the collection of evidence; enhance transparency, public trust and confidence; enhance officer accountability and professionalism; protect officers from unfounded allegations of misconduct; and de-escalate volatile situations.
MHPS has partnered with Axon Public Safety Canada on the program. Axon has provided the equipment and training.
