Can body cameras improve policing? The OPP wants to find out
Southwestern Ontario study to find out if technology should be used on broader scale
Starting this month, some provincial police officers in southwestern Ontario will start wearing body cameras to see if the technology makes police and the public safer.
The year-long study was announced by the Ontario Provincial Police Tuesday morning. OPP also said Tuesday it would not release the findings of the study, when it concludes a year from now.
Traffic enforcement and emergency response officers, as well as uniformed officers with the Haldimand detachment, will start wearing the technology in plain view, starting Tuesday.
It means the officers who are participating in the study will turn the body camera on before arriving at the scene of a call for service or while interacting with the public, a statement said. Officers will turn the camera off once the call is complete.
The OPP said the technology is equipped with lights that visibly change colour when the camera is activated and officers have been trained to give people notice as soon as possible that their body-worn camera is recording.
The provincial law enforcement agency said it has conducted "a comprehensive review" of its policies and procedures around privacy when it comes to the technology.
"Procedures have been created to address potential privacy concerns and to ensure the security of the video once it has been recorded during the course of this study," the news release said.
The OPP hopes the technology will enable officers to collect better evidence, improve police accountability and transparency, while enhancing the safety of both police and the public.
OPP spokesman Derek Rogers told CBC News in an email Tuesday, the body cameras are also being used in the bedroom community of Caledonia, Ont., where police are trying to keep tensions between Indigenous protesters occupying two housing developments and the local townspeople at a minimum.
"The cameras may prove useful to ensure accountability and transparency and may have a positive impact in de-escalation," he wrote.
Rogers said the findings of the year-long study will be compiled in a report, but it will not be released to the public.
"The OPP generally does not release internal research or policy papers for officer and public safety reasons," he said.