An RCMP officer wears a body camera at the detachment in Bible Hill, N.S. on Sunday, April 18, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)
Manitoba RCMP officers will begin wearing body-worn cameras as part of a national rollout of the devices.
Officers at the “D” Division headquarters in Winnipeg demonstrated their use on Wednesday.
“Communities have been asking for more accountability and transparency in policing,” said Assistant Commissioner Scott McMurchy, commanding officer, Manitoba RCMP.
“We are very pleased to say that the RCMP has listened and is deploying body-worn cameras throughout Manitoba. With today’s launch, it truly demonstrates our commitment to enhancing the trust between the Manitoba RCMP and the communities we so proudly serve throughout the province.
The cameras will be deployed across multiple detachments in phases, beginning on Friday in Steinbach.
Officers in Portage la Prairie, Amaranth, and Treherne will get their cameras on December 4. The rollout will continue with East St. Paul, Grand Marais, and Selkirk RCMP officers on January 7, 2025, followed by St-Pierre-Jolys on January 22.
In total, it’s expected that more than 490 Manitoba RCMP officers in 44 detachments will be equipped with body-worn cameras by April 2025.
This will include detachments that provide policing services to Ebb and Flow First Nation, Peguis First Nation, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, Chemawawin Cree Nation, O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation as well as a number of other First Nation communities.
RCMP will also utilize a digital evidence management system to store footage and digital files associated with video captured on the cameras.
Police say the body-worn cameras can help increase trust between police and the communities they serve because the video evidence collected will provide an independent, unbiased, and objective way to capture interactions between the community and police officers. They say it will also help resolve public complaints more quickly, and improve evidence gathering.
RCMP officers will usually be wearing their body-worn cameras on their chest and the public will know it’s recording when a red light is visible and flashing below the lens of the camera.
