More RCMP in Alberta are wearing body cameras. But do they improve safety?
CBC
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.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
The incoming CEO of the Toronto Transit Commission says he hopes to leverage his experience working for two of the largest transit agencies in the world to make the TTC the most reliable transit system in North America.
London police are urging downtown residents, businesses and property owners to be on alert amid an uptick in copper wire thefts in the core over the last several months.
Canada posted its largest merchandise trade deficit on record in April — at $7.1 billion — as exports fell sharply in the face of U.S. tariffs.
A seven-year-old boy who was hit by an SUV while riding his bicycle in a St. John's neighbourhood has died.
A seed company in the Sudbury, Ont., community of Lively is helping with Canada's national re-greening efforts by working to expand national seed production.
The majority of people who have spent time in foster care need support — and not just free tuition — to succeed in higher education.
New Brunswick's rent cap, introduced after the Liberals won last fall, will remain at three per cent for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, Housing Minister David Hickey announced in the legislature Wednesday.
Recently appointed federal cabinet minister Rebecca Chartrand harassed a former employee at Winnipeg's Red River College Polytechnic over a period of several months in 2019, according to an external investigation commissioned by the college and conducted by a Winnipeg law firm.
While residents of La Ronge and the surrounding area have escaped from northern Saskatchewan's wildfires to safer spots, many of their pets had to be left behind.
You could argue the United States isn't exactly the most welcoming country for visitors at the moment.
It's not clear what increased U.S. steel tariffs will mean for Hamilton, but workers and industry leaders agree it's nothing good.
The idea of "no tax on tips" has found a way to appeal across party lines in the U.S. The policy is winding its ways through the halls of American government — but economists warn, it's not an idea worth pursuing here in Canada.
When Rebecca McCrimmon evacuated with her family from Denare Beach last week, it was out of concern that access to the northeast Saskatchewan community, not far from the Manitoba border, would be cut off by the Club fire burning to the north.