More RCMP in Alberta are wearing body cameras. But do they improve safety?

Alberta RCMP have ramped up the use of body-worn cameras for front-line officers as a push is underway to have 90 per cent of the national police force use the cameras within the coming year. 

Alberta RCMP said the move was part of their "commitment to transparency and accountability."

RCMP provided a demonstration of the cameras to media on Dec. 5 at the Parkland detachment in Spruce Grove.

"Body-worn cameras provide a new opportunity for the Alberta RCMP," said Insp. Kevin McGillivray. 

"The video evidence collected through these devices will provide independent, unbiased and objective interactions between civilians and officers, helping to increase trust between police and the communities that we serve."

But criminal justice and policing experts say the research is contradictory on how effective the cameras are at decreasing, or even increasing, use of force incidents and complaints. 

"As part of a broad range of probable accountability measures, I believe that body-worn cameras have their place," said University of Alberta criminologist Temitope Oriola in an interview with CBC.

"However, it is important to not view body-worn cameras as the solution to all problems in policing."

The national police force first announced its plan to equip between 10,000 and 15,000 officers with body-worn cameras back in 2020, as protests against police brutality took place around the world in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis that year.

Public complaints filed against RCMP members have continued to trend upwards over the past five years, according to data from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. 

881 public complaints were lodged regarding the on-duty conduct of RCMP members in Alberta between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. 

The Alberta government announced in March 2023 that body-worn cameras would become mandatory for all police officers in Alberta. 

Edmonton police started issuing cameras to 280 officers in various units in September as part of a pilot project in July 2023. 

Body-worn cameras became mandatory for Calgary police officers in 2019.