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Following what it’s calling a successful pilot project to road-test 30 body-worn cameras, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) now wants to deploy hundreds more, eventually equipping the entire force.<\/p>\n
In a report to the Ottawa Police Service Board, Deputy Chief Steve Bell says the OPS wants 850 cameras to equip all front-line officers by the end of 2027. <\/p>\n
The report says the cameras will boost transparency and accountability. It also cites the benefits of AI-supported functions that come with the gear, including report writing and two-way language translation.<\/p>\n
Buying all those cameras will cost over $30 million, according to a preliminary quote cited in the report. The estimate includes both the hardware and software licences.<\/p>\n
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Hector Addison, founder of the African Canadian Association of Ottawa, said bodycams can help mend the broken trust between police and Black communities. (Francis Desch\u00eanes\/CBC)Transparency and accountability<\/p>\n
Under the pilot, which started in November, 30 cameras were given to members of the OPS’s crisis intervention team and other officers.<\/p>\n
“Body worn cameras represent a significant advancement in public safety and transparency. By capturing real-time interactions between police officers and community members, BWCs help foster accountability, build trust, and provide an objective record of events,” Bell’s report notes.<\/p>\n
The initiative is partly in response to the death of Abdirahman Abdi, a Somali-Canadian man who died in July 2016 after a violent police arrest. <\/p>\n
The coroner’s inquest into Abdi’s death made\u00a0several recommendations\u00a0aimed at preventing deaths in custody, including the use of bodycams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hector Addison of the African Canadian Association of Ottawa agrees that additional cameras could help ensure transparency and accountability in interactions between police and the community.<\/p>\n
“Many in our community’s interaction with the police have been of concern, right? So we feel like this is a step in the right direction to be able to restore and build that relationship,” he said.<\/p>\n
While Addison said bodycams could help regulate use of force by police, community advocate and police critic Robin Browne said that’s not necessarily the case.<\/p>\n
“We have very little faith that the based on the evidence that this is actually going to reduce police violence,” Browne said. “The idea is obviously to avoid deaths like [Abdi’s] in the future. This won’t do that, right? His death was on camera, on a lot of cameras.”<\/p>\n
Benefits of AI tools<\/p>\n
Bell’s report also cites potential savings thanks to the cameras’ AI software, which can assist officers in drafting incident reports. During the pilot, that feature helped boost productivity by reducing the time officers spent writing reports by 40 per cent, according to the report.<\/p>\n
Matthew Cox, president of the Ottawa Police Association, said the cameras can also help reduce time spent in the courtroom. <\/p>\n
“I think that seeing things from a body-worn camera perspective, I think that\u00a0may lead to quicker resolutions on some of the court cases,” he said.<\/p>\n
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Yukang Li, executive director of the Chinatown BIA, says the bodycam’s translation feature can help address language barriers between officers and community members who don’t speak English. (Mathieu Deroy\/CBC)<\/p>\n
The report also cites the success of the equipment’s two-way translation feature, which has been in use since February and is capable of translating 50 different languages. Earlier this week, police shared a video showing officers using the feature to help an elderly woman who spoke only Mandarin.<\/p>\n
Yukang Li, executive director of the Chinatown BIA, said he welcomes the new feature as a way for officers to build trust with non-English-speaking communities.<\/p>\n
“It’s a real reality that happens in minority groups,” he said. “Especially the elderly citizens, they don’t necessarily speak good English. So when something happens, it is difficult for them to call 911 or get help.”<\/p>\n