VPD asks for feedback as it gets set to deploy body cams on some officers
Posted December 8, 2023 11:17 am.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) says it will soon begin its six-month body-worn camera pilot project, and it’s looking for public input.
The VPD shared on social media Friday that it is looking to hear from people with questions and concerns about body cameras, which are expected to be rolled out at the beginning of January 2024. Feedback can be sent to the VPD by email or can be brought up during one of two virtual town hall events, scheduled for Monday, Dec. 11, and Thursday, Dec. 14.
The police force shared some details in its post on X about these cameras, answering a handful of questions about them.
It explains the cameras are worn by officers and “record interactions between the public and police.”
“The video and audio recordings can be used to enhance accountability, transparency, and public confidence,” the VPD explained in a video.
It notes officers in the “North West and North East patrol districts, as well as the Traffic Enforcement Section” will wear the cameras to start, adding those departments have received “specialized training.”
The VPD explains that “officers have been trained to inform the public when an interaction is being filmed,” though that may not happen if “there is a safety risk or it is not practicable to do so.”
An officer may record interactions while speaking to a person in a police investigation, if “the officer has a reasonable belief that use of force may be used,” and if they anticipate violence or aggression, the VPD adds.
Other instances where cameras may be turned on include if an officer is helping de-escalate a situation, if a person “verbalizes their intent to file a complaint,” if officers anticipate they will arrest or detain someone, if they’re interviewing a witness or suspect, or if “an officer believes perishable evidence needs to be collected.”
The VPD lists a number of other circumstances when a body-worn camera may be turned on, and points out that “if you are captured on a video or audio recording, and are not directly involved in the incident, your face will be blurred or sections of the video will be redacted if the footage is going to be used in court proceedings.”
The department explains viewing the videos is “restricted to investigative or training purposes,” in line with provincial and VPD standards and guidelines.
“Only the officer who took the footage and other designated and approved staff may view the video,” the VPD explained. “Recordings will only be released in accordance with Part 2 and Part 3 criteria in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).”
About 100 officers will be equipped with the cameras as part of the pilot project. The force held a test run earlier this year, weeks after the coroner’s inquest into the death of Myles Gray, who died in 2015 after being severely beaten by VPD officers during an attempted arrest.
A fast-tracked rollout of body-worn cameras and improved crisis de-escalation training for officers were both among the recommendations the jury made at Gray’s coroner’s inquest in May.
Body cameras were also rigorously debated at city hall in the fall of 2022, with council eventually passing a motion that green-lit cost analysis of body-worn cameras.
The VPD says recordings will be “automatically deleted after 13 months,” unless they are needed as “evidence in relation to an offence, or for training purposes.”
“Once all court processes are complete, the recording will be deleted,” the VPD explained Friday. “They may also be kept for training purposes as long as that training remains relevant.”
-With files from Martin MacMahon and Greg Bowman
