RCMP in New Brunswick are beginning a pilot project to wear body-worn cameras.
In a release, it said it’s part of the “commitment to transparency and accountability with the communities we serve.”
Body-worn cameras can be set to automatically turn on when an officer does certain things, including manually turning them on and off. The project will be implemented in four communities over a 12—to 18-month period.
The RCMP said in the release that body-worn cameras will be launched in Elispogtog First Nation, Richibucto, Saint-Quentin, and Tobique First Nation starting on Nov. 18.
It comes amid criticism over the transparency of the RCMP, who have been seen as lacking in resources, but also involved in several fatal wellness checks on Indigenous community members.
Three people have been killed in New Brunswick in recent years.
Steven “Iggy” Demand was shot and killed on Sept. 8 during a wellness check in one of the communities slated to have body-worn cameras launched – Elsipogtog First Nation.
He is the third person to be killed by police in New Brunswick in recent years. Chantel Moore was killed by Edmundston Police in 2020. Nearly a week later, Rodney Levi was shot and killed during a wellness check in Metepenagiag First Nation.
But RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Hans Ouellette said the force welcomes the use of the cameras.
“We live and work in a fast-paced, modernized environment, and the addition of this investigative tool is another positive step forward in showing our commitment to accountability and transparency to the communities we serve,” he said in the release.
The release did not say what type of body cameras the RCMP is using or how much those body-worn cameras might cost.
It also released the policy around the use of body-worn cameras for the RCMP, including when it should be turned on. According to the RCMP website, it was last modified in 2023.
“Body-worn cameras serve as an independent, unbiased, and objective way to capture interactions between the community and police officers, with the goal of increasing trust between police and the communities we serve,” the release said.
The National Police Federation says an Angus Reid poll shows about 80 per cent of the public is favourable to police using body-worn cameras.
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