Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
As part of the RCMP’s ongoing efforts to be transparent and accountable to the communities we serve, RCMP officers in Northwest Territories will start using body-worn cameras.
The use of these cameras will be complemented by a digital evidence management system that will be used to store and manage body-worn video.
Starting on November 22nd, 2024, body-worn cameras will be worn by RCMP officers working in the Yellowknife detachment. Officers will be trained in groups. Because of this, the public can expect to see some officers with cameras and some without until all have the opportunity to attend the required training. The body-worn camera rollout in Yellowknife is expected to be completed in early December.
Other detachments in the Northwest Territories will have body-worn cameras and the digital evidence management system rolled out to them in a phased approach over the next 6-8 months.
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. 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. The public will know it’s recording when a red light is visible and flashing below the lens of the camera. A green light will be visible when the camera is not recording.
Front-line police officers will be carrying cards with information on body-worn cameras. The same information will be available on posters placed in public areas throughout NWT communities. These materials have been produced in the 11 official languages of the Northwest Territories.