A change is coming for RCMP officers' uniforms.
As part of the RCMP's ongoing efforts to be transparent and accountable to the communities served, officers in Manitoba are going to start wearing body cameras.
The cameras go with a digital evidence management system which is used to store and manage the video footage.
Steinbach will be the first detachment to receive the cameras with a date of November 22, 2024.
Portage la Prairie along with Amaranth and Treherne will be next on December 4, 2024.
East St. Paul, Grand Marais, and Selkirk are slated for a start date of January 7, 2025.
St-Pierre-Jolys rounds out the first group expected to start on January 22, 2025.
490 Manitoba RCMP officers across 44 detachments are expected to be equipped with body-worn cameras between November 22, 2024 and April 2025.
A number of First Nation communities that receive police services will also be included. Ebb and Flow First Nation, Peguis First Nation, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, Chemawawin Cree Nation, and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation among others.
Over the next 18 months, all other detachments across Manitoba will have body-worn cameras and a digital evidence management system.
The goal with incorporating body-worn cameras is to increase trust between the police and the communities they serve. It will provide an independent and unbiased way of capturing interactions between the police and the community.
RCMP officers will have the camera on their chest and the public will know it's recording when a red light is visible and flashing below the camera lens.