The Need for a Standardized Body-Worn Camera Policy

• Main Author: Saulnier, Alana
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Applied Police Briefings 2024
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: https://appliedpolicebriefings.com/index.php/APB/article/view/4859

Based on a survey of all federal, provincial, municipal, and First Nations police services in Canada, 36 of 172 Canadian police services are using body-worn cameras (BWCs) as of 2022. Twenty-seven of these services shared their BWC policy with the researchers of the source article. Almost all BWC policies provided activation instructions, required subject notification of BWC use as soon as reasonably possible, did not allow BWC footage to substitute for other forms of evidence, and permitted users to view their BWC footage. However, some important topics were not consistently discussed in existing policies, including issues around camera buffering, victim-sensitive practices, and services publicly disclosing BWC footage in the public interest. Police services should work towards using a nationally standardized BWC policy to promote evidence-based practice, increase public confidence in police, reduce resource wastage in services acquiring BWCs, and decrease liability for services using a shared standard.