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(photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan RCMP)
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(photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan RCMP)
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Swift Current City RCMP members will be amongst other front-line officers taking part in the provincial rollout of body cameras.

These cameras will be in use when an officer executes the law. They must be activated by the officer for recording and will be visible to citizens.

Swift Current City RCMP Staff Seargent, Evan Gordon, confirmed that they will be part of this initiative, although they are not involved in phase one. 

"I expect that probably within the first quarter of 2025, we should have our body-worn cameras in place and have our front-line officers equipped with them," said Gordon. 

The goal of the body cams is to improve transparency and to be able to provide an accurate account during disputed interactions. By having everything on video, it becomes possible for both the defendant and the officer to refer back to the footage when discussing how events proceeded. 

"Ensuring that police are transparent and accountable is not an issue that I have had concerns with in my time here as the detachment commander," said Gordon. "But I certainly can see that being beneficial to take those steps."

The cost of these cameras is being covered in part by the provincial policing contract and by the municipal contracts. 

The initial detachments using the cameras will be Fort Qu'appelle, Black Lake, Fond du Lac, Pelican Narrows, Onion Lake, and Punnichy. All other detachments will begin utilizing cameras over an eight to 12-month period. 

The frontline officers using these devices are categorized as those answering mental health calls, crimes in progress, and conducting investigations. Later on, they will also be issued to those involved in events, public order, and things like protests. 

"My anticipation is that eventually, every RCMP officer will have a body-worn camera," said Gordon. "They'll just have to ensure that they're in compliance with policy when that camera is to be worn."

Just like with any other piece of equipment, tampering with the camera is an offence. 

"It's called obstruction," relayed Gordon. "There could also be offences such as assaulting a police officer, attempting to disarm a police officer, and things like that could apply depending on the circumstances in the situation.

"It's never a good idea to touch or attempt to touch police officers equipment, whether it's a video camera or a vest or their hats or anything else."

Locally, Gordon has observed his officer's reaction to the implementation of cameras as being small to none. 

"I think it's accepted that it's part of the job and just another tool in our toolkit to use," said Gordon. 

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