WINDSOR, ONT. -- In an attempt to address concerns of racial bias in Canadian Police Forces, the Prime Minister announced plans to discuss equipping officers with body cameras, a move the Windsor Police Association said it is “not opposed” to.
“Any tool that can assist in facilitating justice, we’re not opposed to,” association president Jason DeJong said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday he plans to speak with Canada’s premiers this week about body cameras as “one measure amongst many to address systemic challenges” in Canada.
DeJong did say there are some concerns surrounding the cost, believing the money could be better spent somewhere else.
“It’s the retention of evidence,” he said. “All the software that’s required to do that, the vetting and the privacy issues of people that may not be part of the actual issue at hand but are on video, how you protect those people’s privacy and there’s those concerns and all of that comes with the price tag.”
In 2016, the Amherstburg Police Service became the first in Ontario to have body-worn cameras as part of a year-long pilot project.
However, the service did away with them before Windsor Police took over operations earlier this year.
“Although they adopted the technology early on they really weren’t using it at the end of the day so they came to the end of their useful life and the board voted to discontinue with that particular program because the cost outweighed the benefit,” said Windsor Mayor and police services board chair Drew Dilkens.
The mayor echos the Windsor Police Assocation’s concerns, saying the cost is too great.
“If the Prime Minister is truly interested in seeing body worn cameras move from coast to coast to coast across Canada he’s going to have to write a pretty big cheque to premiers to make it happen,” Dilkens said. “It’s very expensive technology.”
The RCMP however, are moving forward with the idea and confirms frontline mounties will be issues body cameras.
Former RCMP officer turned film-maker and civil rights activist Will Prosper says body cameras have their limits.
“It all depends on who has control,” he said. “Because even with a pilot project we had in Montreal even if there was a complaint filed against a police officer they were not obliged to give all that information.”
