Sask. RCMP only division to halt use of old dash cams

Force to roll out new video systems after pilot project finishes later this month

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police “F” division — which covers Saskatchewan — was the only one of 12 divisions equipped with dashboard cameras that decided to stop using them before new in-car video systems are operational.

The force expects to roll out the new systems after a pilot project wraps up later this month. The RCMP bought the new cameras for $3.4 million in 2014 with the aim of replacing older units, which download footage directly onto memory sticks or DVDs, with better cameras and a national database of footage. Of its 14 divisions across the country, only “L” division in P.E.I. and “V” division in Nunavut did not use the older systems, according to RCMP national spokesman Harold Pfleiderer.

“Only F Division made the decision to wait for the new data transfer and storage server technology,” Pfleiderer said in an email on Thursday. “As reported, they are currently piloting the new technology in three detachments in Saskatchewan … Other than Saskatchewan, P.E.I. and Nunavut, all RCMP contract policing divisions have active in-car video recording systems.”

It’s unclear why the Saskatchewan RCMP chose to disable the older cameras before the new ones were available. The new ones were installed two years ago but cannot be switched on because the force has not yet developed a policy for how the footage will be stored. Pfleiderer said in an email that those decisions are left up to the individual divisions.

“F” Division spokeswoman Natalie Gray said no one at the division was available for an interview on Thursday but pledged to follow up with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner and “F” Division commander Curtis Zablocki wrote in a statement earlier this week that the systems increase officer safety and police accountability.

“I am committed to ensuring this valuable tool is rolled out across Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction,” Zablocki wrote.

Saskatoon defence lawyers Brian Pfefferle and Lisa Watson told the StarPhoenix this week that while video evidence can be a mixed blessing for their clients, the existence of an impartial record of events protects citizens from potential abuses of police power and shields officers from unfounded complaints about their behaviour.

Pfleiderer said in an email that the RCMP plans to give the new servers to detachments in Saskatchewan, B.C., Alberta, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon once the pilot project, which includes three detachments in Saskatchewan — Saskatoon, Southey and White Butte — and one in B.C., wraps up.

“Eventually other divisions may choose to purchase the newer system,” he wrote.

Tony Clement, the Conservative Party of Canada’s public safety critic, said in a statement on Thursday that his party wants to make sure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly, and that it is “more than reasonable to expect this dash-cam technology … would have been fully implemented in a timely and effective manner to help keep our communities safe.”