Police body camera use leaves many privacy questions

Police forces in the Maritimes are watching closely as other cities experiment with police body cameras.

With some recent high profile shooting deaths in the United States, and similar cases here in Canada, the cameras are seen as a way to improve officer accountability.

Halifax deputy chief Bill Moore says it's not quite that easy and leaves officers with many questions.

"When do you turn them on? When do you turn them off? If I go into your home and you don't want me to have that, are you then allowed to ask the police officer to turn it off?" he asks.

"Those are the questions that we need to work through."

Joe Hine is a retired RCMP officer in Fredericton who says when officers use excessive force it can be a symptom of a work-related health problem.

He says health professionals should be allowed routine audits of the footage.

"I think a review of some of the officers' body camera footage by a medical professional and then if that professional feels that he is having difficulty that he discusses that with the officer himself," Hine said.

That idea is not one privacy lawyer David Fraser agrees with.

"You manage the privacy of that interaction by the strict controls at the back end by making sure that that information is not going to be used for any other purpose," he said.

Brian Landry of New Haven, Prince Edward Island says he's all for police officers wearing body cameras.

"People move into an actor mode," he said. "You change your voice tone. You become, it just de-escalates the intensity by how you behave and you look for ways to solve the problem as opposed to escalate it."

Six Canadian cities currently have body camera pilot projects, including Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton.