300 police officers in Manitoba to receive cellphones paid for through criminal forfeiture fund

Manitoba police forces are getting $750,000 from the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund to expand a Winnipeg pilot project that gives officers cellphones to better manage note taking, evidence gathering and other administrative tasks.

The connected officer pilot project gave 22 officers cellphones with data plans to use over a period of 15 weeks. Officers used the phones to take digital notes, audio statements and photos that were logged as evidence. 

Police-specific digital tools, such as the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), a national database, are also accessible on the phones.

The new funding will "better equip officers not with weapons, but with technology," Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen said at a news conference Monday morning.

The use of cellphones allows police to more seamlessly connect with one another and share evidence gathered in the field with each other and the Justice Department, the province said.

The $750,000 from the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund will expand the project to 300 more officers: 150 with the Winnipeg police and 150 with other police services in the province, including the Manitoba First Nations Police Service.

Officers who participated in the first phase of the project said having the phones saved them an average of one hour per event because they had mobile access to the same programs that are on their computers.

Being able to gather statements from victims and witnesses by mobile audio recording saved an average of 30 minutes per person.

"It gets our police officers back on the street and answering the calls where people really need police to be there," Insp. George Labossiere said.

Everything the officers can do on their work computers, they can do on the cellphones, Labossiere said.

The phones will use a dual authentication system as a security measure, and files will be stored in a protected Cloud service.

Winnipeg police will move to a digital evidence management system, a Cloud-based service that will also be used to store files from the incoming next-generation 911 service, NG9-1-1.

NG-9-1-1 will allow citizens to request emergency help via text message or video call. People will also be able to send in photos or videos of incidents that will be logged as evidence.

Under the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, assets obtained through crime can be seized and placed in a fund that is used to compensate victims, fund Victim Services, pay for equipment and training for law enforcement and fund law enforcement community projects.