Saskatoon police to double number of officers wearing body cams in 2023

Saskatoon police plan to double the number of officers wearing body cameras as part of a pilot program that began six month ago, according to a report going to the Board of Police Commissioners Thursday afternoon.

Forty officersbegan wearing body cams in April as part of the pilot program. Now the Saskatoon Police Service wants an additional 40 officers to wear the cameras, the report says.

Besides documenting police activities, the cameras are being used to collect audio and video statements from witnesses and victims.

The report says a survey done prior to start of the pilotshowed 98 per centof community members supported body cameras being worn by officers.

In the survey, 88 per cent of respondents thought body cams would increase public trustand57 per cent said they hadno concerns with officers wearing body cameras.

So far this year $198,000 has been spent toset up the program, buy hardware and purchase software licences.

Another $192,000 has been budgeted for 2023, to be used to expand the pilot by 40 more cameras and cover associated equipment and licensing costs.

The report says police want to get a better understanding of the value and impact ofwearing body cams.

Operating budget

The report also contains the latest estimate for the 2023 operating budget for the police, which comes in at $113.724 million.

That's about $750,000 over what was approved along with the 2022 operating budget as part of the city's two-year budget.