Calgary Police are recalling 150 body-worn cameras in District 1 due to a glitch causing the microphones on the attached radio component to stick open.
Police said Friday there’s been minimal impact on investigations, if any, as the video portion of the cameras still work. Police are in the middle of a planned evaluation period, and said a small number of devices experienced communications interference, which led to the recall for inspection.
Technical support staff are currently in the process of testing the cameras and replacing them; no new cameras will be deployed until testing is finished, police said.
Calgary police announced the phased rollout of the body-worn camera program at the end of November. Police said the cameras were deployed to District 1 and traffic officers, and that rollout to other areas of the service will be paused for two months to make sure best practices are adopted. The traffic unit equipment was not affected by the microphone glitch.
Police said in November they anticipate all uniformed frontline members will wear body-worn cameras by the end of 2016 or the start of 2017. There’s been no indication of a delay due to the glitch, police said Friday.
For more information on the CPS policy on body worn cameras, including the Privacy Impact Assessment, click here: https://www.calgary.ca/cps/Pages/Body-Worn-Camera.aspx
Watch below: After years of testing, Calgary police officers will soon be wearing body cameras on patrol. As Tony Tighe reported Nov. 26, 2015, the cameras are meant to help police defend anything they may be accused of, and provide evidence in criminal charges.
With files from Nancy Hixt
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