'An officers' perspective': Edmonton Police Service discusses body cameras and your rights

It’s been one month since the Edmonton Police Service rolled out its body camera mandate on all officers.

Deputy Chief Darren Derko and Const. Chantel Gullaher joined CTV Morning Live’s Kent Morrison on how they work and your rights when interacting with officers.

 

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

 

Kent Morrison: Well, for about a month now, more and more Edmonton police officers have been wearing cameras on their uniforms as part of a mandate from the provincial government to have all officers soon wearing them. Deputy Chief Darren Derko and Const. Chantal Gullaher are here to tell us more about how they work and what you need to know when interacting with police officers. Const. Gullaher here, let's start with you. You're wearing the camera right now. Can you walk us through the procedure for you when you are wearing the camera?

Chantel Gullaher: Absolutely. The camera is just worn on the front of my exterior vest. I can easily slip it on and off onto a holder. I always know that I'm in ready mode, which means it's passively recording. When I go to an event, I hit the front button and I can turn it off when I'm done with the event and the interaction with the public there.

Kent: What are the rules for when you should turn it on?

Chantel: The rules around that is any interaction with the public, most of the time it's passive recording, but when I do interact with the public, I'm going to be turning it on just for transparency and to show what's happening with the public and what we're seeing from the officer perspective. When the event is concluded and we're done with that interaction, I would just turn it off at that point.

Kent: So sometimes interactions with police officers are stressful for people in the public, and knowing that a camera is on them can also add to that. What do you want the public to know about these cameras as officers are wearing them more and more often?

Darren Derko: Just that the officers are wearing them, that it's recording. It doesn't mean that it's going to be used against them or anything like that. It's just recording the event, in case something happens, and we preserve that evidence or that what happened during that time. What the conversation was, or the actions that the police officer took, because they were what they perceived. It's just like anything else. There's cameras everywhere right now, and we're always being recorded. This just gives the officers perspective on what's happening.

Kent: So what happens to the video once a shift is over?

Darren: It all depends what the interaction was, right? It's going to be kept for two years if it's just a regular interaction. If there's charges laid and they’re going to be going to court, it'd be kept longer.

Kent: So what's that like for you?(Chantel) How do you log your camera once you're done with your shift?

Chantel: It's really easy. When I return to the office, I can put it in a loading dock station, which means it's automatically uploading that video that's captured throughout the day. Through there, I can go through the video and submit it to the file, and I can also make sure that it's attached to the right file and follow up with the investigation evidence submission.

Kent: Now can someone who interacts with the police officer request that video as well?

Darren: Yeah, they can probably go through our (Freedom of Information and Protection) process if they want a copy for whatever reason. It would be available.

Kent: What happens if a police officer does not upload the video from their camp?

Darren: They don't have a choice. As soon as it's put in the docking station, or they enter into a police station, it starts downloading.

Kent: How many officers are wearing them right now?

Darren: 280. We're just finishing up some training. Obviously, there's a lot of back end work that we still have to do, a lot of redacting, vetting, start training the teams behind the scenes, and we're hoping to roll out a lot more in the new year. So it's all operational, front-facing officers that are going to be on the street.

Kent: Const. Gullaher, for you, do you have a responsibility to tell people that you're recording them?

Chantel: I like to tell people that they are being recorded. When it is recording, the red light is showing, so a lot of people do notice that it's recording in the first place. They'll ask us about it, and we’ll say, "yeah, it's recording." But I like to inform them, and especially if I'm speaking to a complainant and being sensitive to that issue as well.

Kent: Now early on with this, it has just been the last few weeks that this has all been going on but have you had public feedback on this so far?

Darren: Yeah, and you know what? It's been actually pretty positive, both from the police officer's perspective and the public. We haven't really had any incidents or anything to happen that is cause for alarm. It seems to be being accepted, and the public's getting used to it already.

Kent: This is the early stages of the project that will grow and grow and grow. The Edmonton Police Service has further information on the cameras available on their website. You can go to edmontonpolice.ca and learn even more.