Preparing RCMP body-cam evidence for court will be monumental task, prosecutor says

The RCMP is phasing-in the use of body-worn cameras across the country and expects 90 per cent of frontline members to be wearing them within a year.  

While the cameras could provide useful evidence for criminal cases, they will also mean "a massive undertaking," according to Shara Munn, president of the New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association.

She said prosecutors are unable to keep up with current cases as it is, and this will mean a "huge influx of work."

"It's something that we're certainly thinking about, worried about, trying to talk to government about, and get the ear of someone so that we can hopefully get ahead of this," Munn said.

"Oftentimes it takes government a long time to get those wheels rolling to address things, and then we end up being very reactive, and that's just not a good way to run a justice system.

The cameras will be worn on officers' chests, and the audio and video will be uploaded at the end of their shifts and maintained on a digital evidence management system.

In November, frontline RCMP in Elsipogtog First Nation, Richibucto, Saint-Quentin and Tobique First Nation began wearing body cameras. Other New Brunswick detachments are to follow suit over the next 12 to 18 months. 

The RCMP said the cameras will help increase trust between police and communities, help resolve public complaints and improve evidence-gathering.

Munn said her concerns are not about this being new technology or unfamiliar territory. Dash-camera evidence and video from municipal police, and justice and public safety officers, have been in use for some time, she said. 

With body-cam evidence, the worry is the "sheer volume of it that's going to be arriving."

"Once the RCMP completely adopt that, since they are the major policing force in the province, that's going to be just a monumental task to deal with," Munn said.

CBC News asked the Department of Justice and Public Safety for an interview, but received only a statement.

"The department recognizes the value of body camera evidence and is aware of the extra work that it might entail," Geoffrey Downey, spokesperson for the department, said.

"Police agencies and the Crown Prosecution Services have to review all relevant evidence and then disclose it to the defence. The department is working on how it will be done."