The Government of Alberta said it is developing a province-wide mandate for body-worn cameras for all police services, March 14, 2023. (Photo: Dreamstime ID 81503734)

By David Opinko

Alberta to mandate body cams for all police services

Mar 14, 2023 | 1:22 PM

EDMONTON, AB – Police officers across the province will soon need to be equipped with body cameras.

The Government of Alberta has partnered with the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police (AACP) to develop a mandate that all police services require their officers to wear body cameras.

The organizations will look to create the necessary standards to implement the rule, including costs and logistics.

According to a news release from the government, body-worn cameras are small video cameras with microphones and internal data storage that can be attached to a law enforcement officer’s head or chest.

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis said mandating police to wear body cameras is a transformational decision that will ensure all interactions with officers are objective.

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“Whether living in large cities or smaller rural communities, Albertans have the right to feel safe and have trust that police will assist and be fair in doing so,” said Ellis. “Alberta will be the first province to mandate body-worn cameras as we work to position Alberta as a role model for safe, secure communities across the country and North America.”

Once deployed province-wide, the government says interactions between police and the public will be more transparent and it will be easier to review any potential incidents that take place.

AACP Vice-President Dean LaGrange said his organization and the provincial government will have discussions with front-line police officers in Alberta, including all municipal police services and the three self-administered Indigenous police services.

“AACP looks forward to receiving details of the body-worn camera mandate to support transparency and further build trust within our communities and welcomes the opportunity to work together to support this,” said LaGrange.

Alberta is set to become the first province in Canada to mandate that all police services equip officers with body cameras.

The Lethbridge Police Service had hoped to implement its own body camera pilot project in 2020, but that was shelved after the service lost $1 million in municipal funding in the city’s 2021-22 Operating Budget.

READ MORE: Lethbridge Police hope to start body cam pilot project in 2020

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