OLDS — Olds RCMP officers are will likely receive their body-worn cameras in this February or March, Staff Sgt. Warren Wright, the detachment’s commanding officer says.
Wright made that prediction during town council’s Dec. 2 committee-of-the-whole meeting.
“I wish I had a crystal ball, but I’m thinking probably February or March,” he said, adding that once they’ve arrived there will be a training period before they will actually be in service.
Council appeared supportive of a request by administrative staff to approve a lease to obtain vehicle and body-worn cameras for their municipal enforcement officers at a cost of $13,358 each year through 2027.
Protective services director Justin Andrew, who deals with local RCMP, the fire department and municipal enforcement (ME) officers, described acquisition of the cameras as “critical,” because more and more people fight tickets in court and even accuse officers of wrongdoing.
Earlier, Andrew said about 50 per cent of such tickets are now being fought.
He said because the information recorded in these cameras can’t be altered, they’re increasingly used as evidence in court.
Andrew said they prove what occurred, not only for officers, but also for residents if they were indeed wrongfully dealt with by police or ME officers.
“The current system that has been in place has come to end of life, so we currently are struggling to keep any of them operating with any success,” Andrew said.
Andrew said the cameras used by municipal enforcement officers are the same and come from the same manufacturer that RCMP will be using.
“It’s been deemed the most reliable and user-friendly system,” he said.
Andrew said staff looked at the possibility of “piggybacking” off the RCMP camera purchase but that was not possible “because of the federal nature of it.”
“So even though we can utilize the same equipment, we have no opportunity to buy it at a discount,” he added.
Andrew said the advantage of going the lease route is that the cameras have a short lifespan.
Via the lease, they’ll be fully supported by the manufacturer and continually updated by its IT team.
“If a device has damage to it or a battery or any kind of a technical glitch, they literally replace it, no questions asked,” Andrew said.
He said through the lease, additional cameras can be provided, which could be convenient, either as spares or if a third ME officer is hired, as council was considering.
“Currently we don't have that ability. We literally have two cameras and when they don't work, you go without,” Andrew said.
Coun. Darren Wilson was the lone councillor to express some hesitancy about obtaining the cameras for ME officers.
He asked if their purchase was indeed critical.
“I cannot understate that enough that it is critical,” Andrew said.
“It's ($13,358) but what is a lawsuit worth to us as an organization and the reduced liability of us having that undeniable proof of an interaction,” Andrew asked.
“And unfortunately,” he added, “it makes it sound doom and gloom with the increase in social disorder, but challenging the law is a real problem that we're dealing with.”
Mayor Judy Dahl as well as councillors Dan Daley, James Cummings and Wanda Blatz expressed support for the cameras.
“I would concur with what director Andrew says, and also, as we see in the media nowadays, this also is a deterrent for bad behaviour of our people that our (community peace officers) are dealing with,” Daley said.
“When they see a body-worn camera I'm sure it deters them from escalating the situation on their behalf as well.
“And so I think this is a very well warranted expense, not only for our officers, but also for the citizens that are also being in direct contact with their officers.”
Cummings said the purchase makes sense from a variety of angles.
“We cover of operational health, safety (for ME officers). We have insurance issues, workers compensation,” he said.
“At some point in time, I think those organizations are going to say that if you don't have body-worn cameras, you are going to be charged extra, simply because it is the absolute norm in that industry.”
