The RCMP’s long-promised plan to equip Mounties throughout the nation with body-worn cameras has been delayed.
The RCMP had deliberate to outfit between 10,000 and 15,000 frontline officers in phases, beginning someday in 2023 and working into 2024.
After awarding the contract to Motorola Options Canada earlier this 12 months, the Mounties ran area exams of the cameras over the summer time in Nova Scotia, Alberta and Nunavut.
A current assertion from RCMP headquarters suggests the testers confronted points.
“Canada plans to train its absolute discretion beneath the contract to pivot to the next-ranked bidder. As that is an ongoing procurement course of, we’re unable to offer extra particulars right now,” stated RCMP spokesperson Robin Percival.
“An up to date timeline can be decided as soon as the federal government has pivoted to the second-ranked bidder.”
CBC Information has reached out to Motorola Options Canada for remark.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki agreed to fund body-worn cameras in 2020, weeks after George Floyd’s dying in Minneapolis.
Footage of Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck fuelled protests towards police brutality and systemic racism in Canada and world wide.
“It’s critically essential for Canadians to really feel protected by the police and [the commissioner] is dedicated to [taking] no matter steps are required to reinforce belief between the RCMP and the communities we serve,” stated an RCMP spokesperson on the time of the 2020 announcement.
RCMP has launched insurance policies
The power initially deliberate to roll out the cameras in 2021, nevertheless it took years to land on Motorola because the preliminary vendor.
When the RCMP does lastly begin utilizing the cameras throughout the nation, officers must activate them throughout service calls — together with ongoing crimes and investigations, psychological well being calls and protests, says the power’s coverage doc.
The RCMP says its officers will not use the cameras throughout intimate searches.
The RCMP additionally has insurance policies on when the cameras may be turned off (hardly ever) and the way the footage may be disclosed to the general public (upon request).
The federal authorities dedicated $238.5 million over six years within the 2020 fall financial assertion to fund the cameras and a digital proof administration system.
The union representing RCMP officers stated it continues to assist physique cameras for its members.
“The NPF has been engaged with the RCMP and its membership all through the testing phases and we are going to proceed to interact on this essential matter as the subsequent vendor rolls out their product,” Brian Sauvé, president of the Nationwide Police Federation, advised CBC Information in a media assertion.
