EPS to trial body-worn cameras as part of provincial mandate

Starting Monday, a selection of EPS officers will be trialling body cameras as part of a provincial mandate.

Edmonton police will soon be rolling out a new bodycam program after the province’s March mandate that all police officers in Alberta must now wear the small cameras.

The Edmonton Police Service will start a six-month trial starting July 10, in which a total of 35 officers working with transit and community safety teams, the Healthy Streets Operations Centre community safety teams and the high-risk encampment teams will wear cameras. These teams were chosen intentionally to provide a broad scope of policing, according to the EPS.

Different technologies will be used to determine which equipment works best and then a proposal will be sent out to that camera vendor.

The EPS tried body-worn cameras nearly a decade ago between 2011 and 2014, however, police found the lack of technological evolution left much to be desired in terms of the added efficacy of the cameras.

In-car cameras were also being trialled by the EPS starting in 2022, but that project has been put on hold with the resources reallocated to body-worn cameras.

“The goal of body worn cameras are multifaceted, but overall aim to create a more efficient accountability process and reduce use of force incidents for both officers and the public,” reads an EPS press release issued Wednesday.

“Some of the anticipated outcomes include increasing transparency, reducing unfounded allegations of police misconduct, increasing public trust and confidence in the EPS and enhancing officer accountability and professionalism.”

Small, black cameras — which are about the size of a deck of cards — will be fixed to the front of officers’ uniforms and will start recording when an interaction begins. Officers are not legally required to tell people they are being recorded, however, the EPS says officers will do their best to inform the public if and when they are being recorded during an interaction.