A robust policy has been developed that outlines cameras are to be activated when officers are responding to a call or come across an incident requiring investigation. Recognizing privacy issues, storage capacity and the fact that every situation does not merit the collection of video, the cameras will not be on all the time. A full copy of the Calgary Police Service body worn camera policy can be found at this link.
The matter of balancing privacy with the community benefits of using the technology has been top of mind since the inception of the program. As part of this careful and considered review, we have been working closely with the office of the Privacy Commissioner to ensure they are happy with the steps we are taking. A copy of our Privacy Impact Assessment can be found at this link.
In a recent survey, 91 per cent of polled Calgarians said they were supportive of officers using the cameras with 88 per cent saying it will enhance transparency and 95 per cent saying they will increase officer accountability.
Policy outlines that body worn cameras are activated when officers are responding to a call or come across an incident requiring investigation. However, as with any new technology, police anticipate that there will be a learning curve for all members while they adapt to the new technology.
Recognizing privacy issues, storage capacity and the fact that every situation does not merit the collection of video, the body worn cameras will not be recording an officer’s entire shift.
In the coming months, the Service will be embarking on public education and awareness campaign to ensure Calgarians are aware that when they are interacting with a uniformed officer of the Calgary Police Service, there is a possibility that the interaction is being captured on the body worn camera.
I'm not scared of the police and more scared of those they have to deal with so I'm all for it. Additionally, in the event there is an outlier of an incident in which the Calgary Police office is in the wrong it does offer protection to both sides.
CPS to have body worn cameras rolled out to all frontline members by the start of 2017.
Step in the right direction? Police state?
I don't really get the police state comment. To me the body camera's are for both the police and civilian. It should provide an unbiased account of incidents that might come up for review.
If it breeds accountability and ensure proper procedure is followed for the police I am all for it. On the flip side if it provides a defense to constables that are wrongly accused I am all for that.
In short, I see this as a positive for all sides.
Am I missing something?
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
I don't really get the police state comment. To me the body camera's are for both the police and civilian. It should provide an unbiased account of incidents that might come up for review.
If it breeds accountability and ensure proper procedure is followed for the police I am all for it. On the flip side if it provides a defense to constables that are wrongly accused I am all for that.
In short, I see this as a positive for all sides.
Am I missing something?
In other agencies, there has been some concern when it comes to privacy, etc. of officers recording people not involved in the incident. Simply trying to stimulate conversation
In other agencies, there has been some concern when it comes to privacy, etc. of officers recording people not involved in the incident. Simply trying to stimulate conversation
Wasn't a swipe at you old boy, just responding to you obvious attempt to get some discussion going.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
Location: In my office, at the Ministry of Awesome!
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by jar_e
In other agencies, there has been some concern when it comes to privacy, etc. of officers recording people not involved in the incident. Simply trying to stimulate conversation
I think in in an age where just about everyone has a camera in their pocket at all times this is a pretty moot point. People have no complaints about privacy when it's Joe citizen with a camera, why is it different for a law enforcement officer to have a camera on hand?
How often do you see people recording cops just doing their job? And, how often does that recording start well after incidents begin, meaning they lack a whole lot of context? Now the cops are doing it themselves, so as others have said, this is both a step towards increased accountability, and the protection of the officers themselves.
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Yeah, i think buying some extra flash memory andvrecording everything would be money well spent, even if only to protect the officers. Someone wont turn theirs on, get accused of something, and then the lack of video makes it look like they have something to hide. The first thing to think of when entering a dangerous situation shouldnt be "better turn on my camera"
This will lead to big issues down the road with cops "forgetting" to turn it on.
Lawyer here,
There have been cases with Vix cam (patrol car video) not being turned on by accident, because the cop said he didn't like the sound of his voice on the recordings, and police just plain refusing to turn it on. People have no idea...
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure I just read the other day that a Calgary police shooting of a suspect had an officer on scene that didn't turn his on, and that he stated the situation escalated too quickly and turning on a camera was the last thing on his mind. But then wouldn't that be the case for every intense situation where you have to draw a weapon, and aren't those types of situations the biggest reason for this equipment?
Now, the explanation I totally get, but it kind of sets up a weird scenario going forward if they move to equipping all officers with cameras - They have them, but they'll turn them on at their own discretion. Now obviously that conundrum is easier to swallow with a very respected police force like Calgary's and would certainly raise a lot more questions with some agencies south of the border.
However, if Calgary experiences any controversial shootings ( I think we've had at least a couple that I can remember) like the Toronto subway killing and the first thing we hear from the ASERT investigation is "the officers did not turn on their cameras, things happened too quickly", the cynic in me might be thinking "of course they didn't".
I don't know, the privacy thing seems odd as like others have stated, we have no more privacy in this world due to the whole world carrying cameras and filming every little thing that doesn't fit perfectly into society, so I think I'd prefer to just have them on and filming all police/suspect/citizen actions instead of giving them the option to turn them on, and therefore the option to leave them off if they can see a situation arising where they don't want to be on camera doing something.
CPS to Expand Body Worn Camera Program
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