Body camera footage is one step closer to being used as evidence in some criminal cases in Calgary, as members of the Calgary Police Service (CPS) will soon be wearing the cameras on the front lines.
Axon Public Safety Canada was selected as the preferred vendor for the cameras after a three-month testing phase which got underway in February.
Axon was selected from a shortlist of three potential vendors. Officers tested 47 different cameras over the three-month period.
Moving forward, 100 of the cameras selected will be handed out to frontline officers in District 1 by the end of July, police said. If they’re a success, an additional 150 will be distributed in November.
The officers wearing the cameras will have to record all their interactions while on duty.
“The use of body-worn cameras supports the ongoing efforts of the Calgary Police Service to create a safe, transparent, accountable and innovative policing environment for the city of Calgary,” CPS said in a news release.
LISTEN: Criminology doctorate student Erick Laming joins Rob Breakenridge to discuss the efficacy of body cameras.
Acquiring the body cameras has been a lengthy process for the CPS, which first launched a pilot project in November 2012.
The first company selected to provide the cameras in January 2015 — Safety Innovations — had to recall its cameras a short while later citing “technical issues resulting in the compromise of officer safety.”
Police said the body-worn cameras will achieve five key goals:
- Enhance transparency, public trust and confidence
- Collection of evidence
- Enhance officer accountability and professionalism
- Protect officers from unfounded allegations of misconduct
- De-escalate a situation
CPS said that by the end of the second quarter of 2019, the goal is to have all frontline officers — including K9, gang suppression and the tactical unit — equipped with body cameras.