Body Worn Cameras in Canada - 2020 and Beyond

Body Worn Cameras in Canada

I retired from the Ottawa Police Service at the end of 2009 and began my consulting career on contract to the Canadian Police Research Centre. My primary role was to plan, research and then implement a pan-Canadian public safety interoperability program, later called the Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest Group or CITIG (www.citig.ca).

One area of interest at the time was the nascent field of body worn cameras (BWC) or body worn video (BWV). While in-car video had been around for some time, the idea of officers having cameras somewhere on their bodies was gaining traction. 

As it happened, Mark Lyell, a Sergeant from Queensland Police in Australia, reached out seeking support in planning a number of visits to Canadian police services in furtherance of his international research into the use of BWV. 

We arranged for him to visit Ottawa in April 2011 and he provided a briefing to a group of police and civilians from across the National Capital Region at the Ottawa Police Service building in Orleans. Mark’s research and preliminary findings were fascinating – as was the response from the packed room. While there were a fair number of legitimate concerns identified, such as battery life and the privacy of the officers wearing the cameras, the general consensus in the room was that these devices would be a great benefit to both the officers and the communities they served.

Ongoing Body Worn Camera Research

Over the following years I continued to be interested in the topic and fascinated to see both the technology and its use increase around the world – especially after a number of controversial policing occurrences in the USA in both 2014 and 2015.

In 2015 I entered into a contract with then TASER International, now Axon Public Safety Canada, to provide them with advice and support, with that relationship continuing today.

In 2016 Eldon Amoroso, previously a Senior Director responsible for Information Technology at the London Police Service, published an article in the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police magazine titled “Warning: A Tidal Wave of Digital Evidence is Coming” (https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/CCPT/CCPT0116/index.php?startid=16#/p/16).

In it he stated:

“Police agencies across Canada and around the world are facing a tidal wave of digital evidence. While Chiefs in the US are, for good reasons, focusing primarily on the issue of body worn cameras, Canadian police leaders can be more cautious and evidence based in their approach.

Most Canadian agencies are working hard to improve their ability to manage digital evidence, including exploring the use of “cloud” technologies for the potential of increased functionality and reduced costs.”

In 2017 I published an article in the same magazine titled: “Digital Evidence Management in Canada: How R. vs Jordan is changing the game.” https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/CCPT/CCPT0217/index.php?startid=22#/p/14

In it I contrasted the US BWC experience, which is primarily focused on trust and accountability, with that of the international policing community. I wrote:

“The London Metropolitan Police conducted extensive research before moving forward with the purchase of 22,000 body cameras and a cloud based digital evidence management platform. The November 2015 report drafted by the UK College of Policing that led to the Met’s decision was titled “Police, Camera, Evidence: London’s cluster randomised controlled trial of Body Worn Video.”

It states:

“…officer interviews indicated BWV can provide evidential value particularly during incidents of domestic abuse, to show a level of detail/emotion not possible in written statements, an impact which may be seen later in the criminal justice process (for example at court), but has not been possible to capture during the current trial.” P.24

In my opinion, it was these much broader return on investment (ROI) visions, also being witnessed in Australia (no doubt in large part encouraged by Sergeant Lyell’s research), where I saw the future of Canadian BWC programs. 

Not to say that trust and accountability are not important, but if the only measure of success, as measured in numerous US studies, was the reduction of complaints and/or increasing trust and accountability, the ROI might be less powerful.  

In early 2019, again in the CACP magazine, I authored an article titled “Body Worn Cameras in Canada: Moving from Research to Implementation.” 

https://www.cpcmagazine-digital.com/ccpt/0219_spring_summer_2019/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1498358#articleId1498358

In it I wrote:

“Recent Canadian research from independent academics as well as real-world results from a number of BWC implementations in Canada have supported what other countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia have clearly demonstrated: body worn cameras implemented with a broader evidence management program have an extremely positive impact on enhancing the gathering, management and sharing of digital evidence.”

In a soon to be published BWC book, Dr. Greg Brown, from Osgoode Hall Law School (York University), penned a book chapter in late 2019 titled “Police body-worn cameras in the Canadian context: Policing's new visibility and today's expectations for police accountability.” In it he states:

“The author predicts that given this contemporary reality, the trajectory towards increasing police BWC program implementations will undoubtedly continue, as more and more jurisdictions recognize that visibility is the new accountability.”

Body Worn Cameras in Canada Today

In 2020, especially post George Floyd’s tragic death, the number of Canadian police, law enforcement and private sector agencies either using or planning on using BWC has increased dramatically. Police and law enforcement services from coast to coast to coast are either currently using or are about to commence using body worn cameras.

At the same time, Canadian academic leaders are also raising the bar on home grown research with Dr. Brown, Dr. Craig Bennell from Carleton University and Dr. Alana Saulnier from Lakehead University leading the way.

While trust and accountability are certainly key factors in this changing landscape, there is no doubt that most agencies have much broader goals and success metrics.

In addition to enhancing digital evidence management, especially with incredible innovations in the areas of machine learning driven redactions and transcriptions, one key benefit, as first identified by Calgary Police Association Vice President Mike Baker, is that of supporting police officers and their family’s mental health and wellness. He states:

“One of the things that I’m personally most impressed with about our use of body worn cameras is the impact these technologies will have on member investigations. Instead of prolonged anguish for 12-24 months, we can alleviate many complaints in a fraction of that time, reducing the stress on members and their families.”

While some continue to raise red flags about the cost of these BWC programs, real world experience now shows that the actual cost is roughly 60% - 70% LESS than what has been touted in most media reports. The good new is that most police, law enforcement and private sector leaders now take the extra step to get actual pricing estimates as part of their research. In addition, they, correctly, see BWC programs as part of the broader digital evidence management ecosystem – from capture to court and beyond.

Another issue that some raise as a barrier to moving forward with body cameras in Canada is the need for evidence based policies covering critical topics such as when to turn BWC on and off, officers viewing the video prior to drafting their notes and reports, especially in critical incidents such as officer involved shootings, and various privacy related matters, including who gets to view the videos and how videos are released to the public.

Once again there is great news here. Dr. Saulnier has developed an evidence based BWC Policy Framework that has now been reviewed and/or enhanced by multiple Canadian police practitioners, association members, and academic leaders. In addition, the vast majority of BWC policies currently in place in Canada, upon which Dr. Saulnier drew in creating the Framework, were created in consultation with various stakeholders including community meetings and surveys. To get a copy of the current version of the Framework please reach out directly to Dr. Saulnier here: [email protected].

Conclusion

While body worn camera technology and supporting Canadian cloud based digital evidence management technologies continue to evolve, now with livestreaming available for the first time, so too must their supporting policies and operational best practices.

The great news is that we now have what might be best described as a “critical mass” of law enforcement, justice, academic and private sector leaders right here in Canada to ensure that the future of body worn camera development is truly home grown. In fact, Canadians are leading the way in a number of research and development areas – something we should all be very proud of.

As Dr. Brown states in his 2019 paper:

“… if a substantial majority of both the public and the country's rank-and-file officers want police BWCs as standard equipment throughout contemporary Canadian policing, then how, or, perhaps more likely, for how long, can police administration and governance resist the demands of those two key constituents?”