RCMP agrees to outfit some Mounties with body cameras

The head of theRCMP says her organization will begin the work of outfitting some of its officerswith body cameras a move that comes in the midst ofa global wave ofmass protests against police brutality.

"The commissioner has confirmed that the RCMP will engage in work and discussion with policing partners and the NPF(the RCMP union)on a broader rollout of body-worn cameras," said spokesperson Dan Brien in a media statement Monday evening.

"The commissioner agrees it is critically important for Canadians to feel protected by the police and is committed to take whatever steps are required to enhance trust between the RCMP and the communities we serve."

Brien said members in operational roles will wearbody cameras.

The policy shakeup comes following a phone call between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Commissioner Brenda Luckiearlier this morning.

"It is something that is, in my opinion, what we need to move forward with," Trudeau told reporters.

Watch: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on RCMP and body cams

Trudeau is asked who raised the idea of body cams for Mounties

4 years ago

Duration 1:37

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he doesn't recall who initially raised the idea to have RCMP officers outfitted with body cameras in his recent conversation with RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki.

Brien said the commissioner heard the prime minister's message loud and clear and is working on aplan to deploy cameras.

It's notclear how much the initiativewill cost and who will pay forit.

The prime minister said he plans to raise the issuewhen he speaks with the premierslater in the week, "so we can move on it as quickly as possible."

"I thinkthere are discussions we need to go forward on logistics, on the cost, on the cost to provinces where there is contract policing in place," Trudeausaid.

"But the challenges that I've heard are more logistical and economic concerns about remote areas and the way those cameras would work."

The RCMP is facing fresh allegations of racism and police brutality brought forward byAthabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam over the weekend.

Adam told a news conference that he was beaten by RCMP officers and that his wife was manhandled in March when police stopped him for an expired licence plate outside a casino in Fort McMurray.

Just last week, anRCMP officer in Nunavutwas caught on camera using his truck's door toknock a man overbeforearresting him.

Calls for RCMP reformare part of a broader debatein this country about police use of force,inspired both by incidents in Canada and by the continent-wide wave ofproteststriggered byGeorge Floyd's deathin police custody in Minneapolis.

Northwest TerritoriesPremierCaroline Cochranesaid adopting body cameras could helpthe RCMP regain public trust.

"It'll not only ensure that the public are being treated properly, it will regainthat social acceptance of the RCMP. People are afraid of them right now," she told the CBC's Rosemary Barton.

"So anything we can do to make people realize that the RCMP are your friends, that they're there to protect us and make sure that they also follow the law ... no one is above the law."

Watch: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau endorses RCMP use of body cams:

Trudeau endorses RCMP use of body cameras

4 years ago

Duration 1:49

As the debate over police use of force intensifies in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he believes RCMP officers should be equipped with body cameras.

Questions raised about cameras' effectiveness

Kanika Samuels-Wortley, an associate professor of criminology at Carleton University, said the research on body cameras is still inconclusive.

"I think there might be this perception that police may act differently if they have these police cameras on them," she said. "However, if we turn to the U.S., we see a number of police services that have implemented the use of body cameras. But clearly that hasn't changed anything, as it was noted during George Floyd's unfortunate incident.

"There isn't hard evidence to demonstrate that body cameras are the way to go. So I do think that the response from the prime minister is more reactive than [it] is actually based on hard facts. "

The RCMPhas more than 20,000 members and,outside of its federal policing obligations, acts as the provincial police in most provinces and territories.

The RCMPhas run two pilot programs onbody cameras.After conducting a feasibility study in 2016, the Mounties opted not to implement body cameras until "such time as available technology can meet its specific operational requirement," said RCMP spokesperson Marie-Christine Lemire.

Watch: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer on defunding the RCMP

'I don't believe that de-funding the RCMP would make Canadians safer': Scheer

4 years ago

Duration 1:02

Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer spoke with reporters on Monday.

Last year, the RCMP'scommanding officer in Nunavut askedthat RCMPnational headquarters look into body camerasin response tocalls for police accountabilityfrom local politicians.

Samuels-Wortleysaid the announcement today misses an opportunity to start a serious conversation about police budgets in Canada.

"We're seeing that the police have a great deal of really negative power over racialized communities within our Black and Indigenous communities in Canada," she said.

"I think really what we need to start focusing on is providing a chance to have an equal footing within society. That would require more funding within these communities as opposed to turning to police to target and surveil these communities."

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer also addressed theRCMP in a news conference this morning, responding both to the new allegations and to therevived push in some circlesto "defund" police agencies in Canada something Minneapolis city council is now promising to do.

The movement is focused largelyon reducing police budgets and reallocating resources so that, for example, a social worker would respond to a mental health call.

Scheer said he supports efforts to root out systemic discrimination within the RCMPbut wouldn't support decreasing the force's budget.

"I don't believe that defunding the RCMP would make Canadians safer,"Scheer said.

Trudeau said there's a need to "constantly review" budgets and expenditures.