Body Worn Cameras

At the end of every shift, the members dock their cameras and footage will be automatically uploaded to the Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) software.  A retention schedule that applies to police records will be applied to the storage of this data, depending on the nature of the interactions (e.g., if footage is captured during a criminal investigation versus a bylaw investigation).

Data queued for deletion is reviewed according to policies ensuring that any content considered to be evidence is removed from the deletion queue.

Any suspected case of a wrongful attempt to delete recorded evidence is escalated appropriately.

Recorded evidence not related to any ongoing matter is queued for deletion after the 2-year retention period.

Data recorded in error is immediately restricted and queued for deletion.

Officers shall complete their notes prior to reviewing their Body-Worn Camera (BWC). When a BWC is used, recordings are intended to support the Officer’s observations and shall supplement detailed notebook entries and applicable reports.

Our Digital Evidence Management System, Evidence.com(c), has been built with a robust auditing process. Officers do not have administrative permissions or access to edit or delete footage captured by their Body-Worn Camera. 

Police officers will start to actively record their interactions with members of the public once they realize that the nature of the interaction is investigative, or enforcement related. If an officer does not turn on their camera or does not follow procedures, complaints can be made to the Professional Standards Branch. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, officers could face any number of disciplinary actions dependent on the nature of the allegations and the reasons why the breach of policy occurred.

We know that only proper use of body-worn video cameras will enhance public trust and legitimacy while improper use will have the opposite, detrimental effect on police/community relations.

How do the police manage a request to turn off the body-worn video camera?

When using a body-worn video camera, officers will weigh the law enforcement objective against privacy concerns and take reasonable steps to mitigate the impact on the individual’s privacy.

Officers are required by policy to have their body-worn camera activated during a law enforcement interaction with a member of the public, however, the officer will continually assess privacy considerations and prohibitions outlined in the CPS Body Worn Camera Policy if recording should continue or stop.

The purpose of the camera is to record an officer's interaction with the public during the course of their duties. Officers utilizing cameras shall balance privacy rights with law enforcement needs and are subject to guidelines set within our policy and PIA. Officers will use discretion when a child/youth is involved in minimizing them being recorded. The video will be tagged when a child/youth is captured, and if there is no investigative value and our minimum retention schedule is met, the footage will be deleted.