BPS expects body cams by end of winter
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The Brandon Police Service won’t have body cameras until the end of winter, after initially estimating a fall 2025 implementation.
Insp. Jason Dupuis told the Sun on Friday that a lot of work has to go into the implementation, but that the service is “diligently working on it.”
He estimated a starting date for the cameras of end of February into March.
Part of the delay is because the service is upgrading all of the cameras on its vehicles and because of the “legwork” involved with getting systems set up.
“It’s not just rolling out cameras. It’s getting an entire section set up to process all of the digital evidence that we’ll be receiving,” Dupuis said.
“We’re working on what the section is going to look like. We’re working on a policy on how the camera is going to operate.”
Along with other duties like HR work and hiring staff, “the time wasn’t there,” he said.
The original timeline was given last December by BPS Chief Tyler Bates, who said it would start with an initial allocation of $400,000. The service also hoped to get funding from the province to speed up the transition.
On Thursday, Manitoba RCMP announced 98 per cent of all front-line officers now have body cameras, just over a year after it announced the first cameras would be used in Steinbach.
Dupuis said it’s important for BPS not to hurry the rollout.
“It’s not something we want to rush out. We want to have our ducks in a row before we release it,” he said.
Part of the process, Dupuis said, is comparing methods in different jurisdictions, to see what works best.
Benefits of the cameras include evidence for court proceedings, increased public trust and added officer safety, Dupuis said.
» alambert@brandonsun.com