Not everyone is happy to see body-worn cameras on Prince George RCMP officers these days.
Less than two weeks (December 8th) into the rollout, officers have had a couple of hostile interactions – one of the officers was physically assaulted while on duty and another member had his body camera damaged during a police interaction earlier this week.
Superintendent, Darin Rappel told MyPGNow.com while the new technology will aid investigations, it won’t de-escalate all interactions with offenders.
“I think in high-risk situations where tempers are high in dealing with the public, the fact that a body-worn camera is on a police officer is not changing behaviour at all.”
“By that evening (December 8th) we were already downloading video that was going to crown counsel as part of the charge assessment process. We have done it multiple times and since and there is the added workload – it will impact our partners at crown but to what degree we are not entirely sure because this is so new.”
PG became the first northern detachment to use body-worn cameras December 8th – Fort St. John and the Peace Region will see their roll-out next month.
“What would have occurred before body-worn (cameras) was implemented, it would have been a file we have consistently done before. Officers would attend, they would take notes and photographs and, interview witnesses. There would be that volume of work that is typical for them – now you add body-worn cameras into the mix where you have three to four officers that attend and maybe 15 to 25 minutes of video per person that would land on crown’s desk and be reviewed. If it is going to be presented as evidence, it will have to be vetted, transcribed and redacted. It is an increase in work for us as well as our partners over at crown.” added Rappel.
Officers are required to turn on their body cam as they exit the police cruiser and shut it off once they head back to their vehicle.
The Prince George detachment issued over 100 cameras to its Frontline Police Officers, as well as support sections such as the Downtown Safety Unit, Problem Oriented Policing team and, Youth Support Team.
Video will be stored for a minimum of 30 days up to two years or longer depending on the retention requirements.
Each camera unit costs about $3,000 with the city footing the bill.
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