When Delta Police Sgt. Jim Ingram double taps the device attached to the front of his gear, it begins blinking red and beeping.

Then he tells the person hesa国际传媒檚 interacting with that hesa国际传媒檚 now recording. Itsa国际传媒檚 something Ingram has had the ability to do for the past two years since Delta Police began deploying frontline officers with body-worn cameras.

sa国际传媒淔or the vast majority of interactions, when you tell somebody that theysa国际传媒檙e being recorded it keeps everything fairly calm and even level on both sides. From an evidentiary standpoint, itsa国际传媒檚 fantastic because that the recording the video, the audio, the recall of the event is brilliant. Itsa国际传媒檚 a whole lot better than hand-writing notes after the fact.sa国际传媒�

On Thursday (Jan. 11), the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police hosted a media event touting the current and future implementation of body-worn cameras for police agencies throughout the province.

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The association formed a committee in 2021 mandated sa国际传媒渢o identify best practices by ensuring consistency and standard operating procedures, policies, disclosure procedures and communications,sa国际传媒� said Deputy Chief Anita Furlan with the Metro Vancouver Transit Police.

She said police expect the technology to improve interactions with the public and help resolve complaints more quickly.

Furlan, a vice-president with the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police, said video evidence is valuable in court proceedings because it sa国际传媒渟hows exactly what is occurring.sa国际传媒�

Ron MacDonald said the camera footage is an eye into the interactions of police and the public, but itsa国际传媒檚 not perfect.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 just the camera, and obviously an officersa国际传媒檚 perspective includes his or her peripheral vision, their other senses, what they hear, what they feel, the tension of the situation.sa国际传媒�

MacDonald is the chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. sa国际传媒� the agency that investigates police involvement with civilians that involve injuries or deaths sa国际传媒� and he said hesa国际传媒檚 been calling for all frontline police officers in the country to be equipped with body-worn cameras.

sa国际传媒淎s with any video, they donsa国际传媒檛 necessarily capture all the relevant information. But certainly that type of video taken from a very important perspective, together with the other evidence will greatly assist us in the work we do,sa国际传媒� MacDonald told Black Press Media Thursday.

He said people as witnesses sa国际传媒渟uffer from many frailties,sa国际传媒� such as memory recall, which can impact the quality of their evidence.

sa国际传媒淭he stress of a situation, memory can play tricks on people.sa国际传媒�

If the IIO is investigating a subject officer and they chose to give a statement, MacDonald said the officers are directed to not look at the video footage prior to.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 our view that video can impact memory quite significantly,sa国际传媒� MacDonald said.

However, the IIO doesnsa国际传媒檛 compel officers who are the subject of an investigation to submit notes, reports or data. Of the 53 publicly released reports by the IIO in 2023, only four included some form of notes or interview from the subject officer. But MacDonald said the IIO would sa国际传媒渁bsolutelysa国际传媒� request the footage if the subject officer chooses to not speak with investigators.

Overall, MacDonald said the eventual rollout of body-worn cameras sa国际传媒渉elps to enhance the publicsa国际传媒檚 faith in the work that police do because it shows that the police are prepared to be transparent about their interactions.sa国际传媒�

Beyond the IIO, video footage can also be used by the B.C. Prosecution Service, which determines if charges will be laid, and the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, which oversees and monitors complaints and investigations against municipal police jurisdictions.

Asked if she thinks all interactions should be recorded, deputy police complaint commissioner Andrea Spindler said itsa国际传媒檚 a balancing act, citing important privacy considerations.

Ingram agreed.

sa国际传媒淥n one hand, theresa国际传媒檚 expectations that the police are equipped with body cam recording. On the other hand, theresa国际传媒檚 expectations that people have the right to privacy,sa国际传媒� he said.

Spindler said that looking at some statistics, the OPCC has only ever had a couple of complaints involving the Delta Police Department where there was body-worn camera footage.

For her, the interesting part will begin one or two years down the road to see if the footage leads to more timely resolutions.

sa国际传媒淲hat will in fact be the impact on complaints investigations and has that really improved police accountability and enhance public trust in police?sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒� With files from The Canadian Press