An officer shows what the body-worn cameras look like while on and recording. Cameras can be mounted at the height shown in the image, or higher up, above the "Police" logo. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

MODERNIZING OUR POLICE FORCE

Red Deer RCMP latest in line for body-worn cameras

Mar 20, 2025 | 5:24 PM

Red Deer’s RCMP force is the newest edition to units in Alberta equipped with body-worn cameras (BWC).

As of March 13, following the first round of training, body cameras have started to be deployed with the front-line officers interacting with the public. Red Deer intends to have 90 members trained on and using the technology, and as of March 20, about half that number has already been trained.

“It’s going to be a huge improvement, not only in gaining trust within the public, but also showing transparency with the police force, and also with the City of Red Deer,” said Cst. Cory Riggs, Alberta RCMP.

The use of cameras is a new contractual obligation outlined by the Government of Alberta in regard to RCMP, but Red Deer has taken the initiative to equip its Community Peace Officers (CPO) with the technology as well.

Sylvan Lake was the first central Alberta municipality to receive and deploy the technology.

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The cameras are provided by Axon through a subscription-based model at $3,000 per unit, allowing for easy replacements in the event of damage. In Budget 2025, this cost was taken on by the municipality at $220,000 for the RCMP cameras and $35,000 to equip the CPO’s.

Each camera can store approximately 60 hours of audio and video with about a 13 hour battery life. The devices also auto-transcribe dialogue as a back up to recording the audio.

For the sake of both police and the public, the main benefit of the cameras is the objective evidence they provide.

“The reality is, when our folks are out there, there’s cameras all over the place. With us having the camera, and from the viewpoint that our members and the RCMP will have, we can create an accurate and unbiased record of what truly happened,” explained John Ferguson, manager of municipal policing services. “That can help down the road with public complaints, that can help with litigation issues, but even more important, from our perspective, with evidence going before the courts.”

For example, when an officer employs the use of force in an interaction, it’s often recorded on video by a witness. Riggs said these videos generally fail to show the totality of the situation, especially the context and interaction leading up to that moment.

In addition to transparency and accountability, the cameras are also useful for de-escalation, training and feedback, Riggs said.

These cameras will not be recording all the time; according to RCMP policy, they will remain off until an officer is in a situation that demands their use, such as attending a call for service, initiating contact with a member of the public, taking a statement and interacting with someone in custody.

Mounties add, the devices will not be used for covert surveillance purposes or utilize biometric analyses like facial recognition. Additionally, they are to be turned off in spaces with a “high expectation of privacy,” like in bathrooms, hospitals, treatment centres or religious spaces, or when conducting strip searches.

In the event a video is used in trial or shared with the public, bystanders and witnesses not directly involved will have their features blurred out to protect their privacy.

While it is to an officer’s benefit to record, in the event an officer fails to turn their BWC on, Riggs assured there are policies in place to handle the situation. Supervisors will also be able to see who does and does not have their camera on via a digital map and can radio the appropriate officer in real time.

In the event a camera is turned on late during an interaction that caught an officer off guard, the BWC’s run on a buffer and capture the 30 seconds before they’re fully powered on.

“Which is huge because when we’re in high stress situations, when we’re going to calls, we might not be able to hit it right away, so just having that 30 second buffer is going to be huge in capturing the totality of the situation,” said Riggs.

Videos will be stored on a cloud-based digital evidence management system, which RCMP assure will have multiple layers of security controls and will be continuously monitored against security threats.

The length of time they are stored for will depend on the severity of the crime and any legal proceedings utilizing the footage, but will generally range from 30 days to two years.

Only designated individuals will have the ability to access this database and it will automatically log who viewed it and when. Generally, officers will not be permitted to view another member’s footage unless a valid rationale, such as investigative purposes, is provided.

Additionally, RCMP officers may only see their own footage of an incident after they have completed their notes on the matter. If an officer makes additions to their notes after viewing the footage, they must state that was the case.

When the cameras are off and not recording, they will show three green lights. When recording is in progress, the lights will blink red.

Related: Sylvan Lake RCMP first in central Alberta to get body cams

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