James Moore (HQ Kelowna) – Mounties hope wearing cameras on the beat will keep everyone on their best behaviour.
That goes for cops, as well as the bad guys.
Police officers in Kelowna will be some of the first in Canada to wear the devices after local management decided to commit to the camera system full-time. Officials with Kelowna RCMP say footage from the cameras can be used to bust bad guys and will also be handy when they get complaints about their officers.
The cameras are about the size of your palm and strapped to an officer’s vest, near the breast pocket. Several officers have been using the new gear on downtown patrols for several weeks already. “As more and more of these [cameras] are purchased, then they will become almost part of the member’s kit,” says Kelowna RCMP’s Cst. Steve Holmes.
Right now, there are a total of 6 cameras in service.
The cameras are ideal for use on foot and on bicycle, and the force is already looking into other camera models that can be mounted on motorcycle patrols.
Cst. Mike Dunn has used the Digital Ally “First Vu” camera in the field, and wishes the technology had been available years ago. “Pictures are worth a thousand words,” says Dunn. He adds when it comes to conclusive evidence, “you cannot replace full images or video equipment.”
For the time being, officers have the option to wear the cameras while on patrol. Cst. Holmes says an official policy on the cameras is being developed by RCMP officials Ottawa.
Detachments across Canada will adopt the system soon.
As suspects in all manner of videos are supplied with copies of all footage as per the disclosure requirements, I assume we can look forward to some entertaining segments regularly as we now do with American police releases. A byproduct of the proliferation of video in our lives.
It makes you wonder why the judiciary are so hesitant to have the public watch its machinations on a daily basis.
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