An RCMP wearing the Axion body-worn camera in Ottawa, Ontario, on June 14, 2024. (SERGE GOUIN / RCMP)
Manitoba RCMP says its service-wide rollout of body-worn cameras is almost complete, with 98 percent of frontline officers across the province now equipped with the devices.
The final group of officers will receive cameras once the new Berens River detachment opens next week, providing the necessary infrastructure.
RCMP officials say the cameras have already become a valuable policing tool.
“For example, taking statements and obtaining photos of scenes, victims, and suspects is extremely easy and the apps are excellent in tracking our movement during an investigation,” said Cpl. Jenelle Hulan of the Manitoba RCMP major crime unit.
“Overall, this is a tool we needed in front-line policing to increase transparency and trust for both police and the public.”
All footage is stored through a digital evidence management system, which now contains more than 174,000 pieces of video, images, audio, and documents from the 638 cameras currently in use. The RCMP has also shared over 1,500 digital case files with Manitoba Prosecutions.
