Hamilton, Ont., police got thumbs up from board members Thursday to pursue putting body-worn cameras on hundreds of its frontline officers. The program is expected to cost the city roughly $9.7 million over five years with a one-time cost of $1.97 million to outfit 500 staffers during a projected 2025 launch. Subsequent years will cost roughly $1.93 million annually between 2026 and 2029.
Chief Frank Bergen told board members the technology provides an “unbiased record of interaction” between officers and the public in addition to improved evidence gathering that can be added to its current digital management system. “What are we accomplishing … is making sure that we can satisfy trust and accountability for satisfying our strategic plan, which speaks to leveraging technology,” Bergen explained.
Officers are instructed to turn on the cameras prior to arriving at a call for service or prior to asking any sort of question. Cameras are turned off when a call or investigation is complete or when an officer determines the recording is no longer serving a purpose.
More than a dozen municipal and regional police services are already using body-worn cameras in the province, including the Ontario Provincial Police. Bergen said some 18 other services within Ontario are considering the technology, including Sudbury, London, and Ottawa.
In early April, the TTC announced it would be moving ahead with a limited body-worn cameras pilot for some of its staff. GO Transit fare inspectors are expected to don the cameras soon after a pause to a safety-focused Metrolinx plan was revived.
The chief says the conversation about body cams has been happening in Hamilton since 2015 with cost being the prohibitive factor holding it back. Last year, the service took advantage of a $1.4-million provincial program field testing 78 in-car cameras, which reportedly had a positive impact on transparency and evidence gathering.
Sgt. Scott Moore told board members in April technology advances over the last decade make the prospect more attractive since entire shifts can now be recorded, uploading and downloading of content is faster, and statements can be captured through audio recordings that can be transcribed by software. Moore said software and hardware from Axon Canada would be “refreshed” every 30 to 60 months during the five-year contract to compensate for wear and technical advancements.
Almost four years ago, Hamilton police dropped a year-long $250,000 pilot project for 100 officers due to financial reasons opting to monitor Barrie, Guelph and Toronto, which began putting cameras on their front-line officers.
Bergen says in-car tests last year generated 81,000 videos with just over 3,000 requested for court matters in 2023 and another 1,300 so far in 2024. The chief warned council the rollout won’t happen instantly and that future council budget deliberations and research on privacy impacts, operational policies, and governance will still have to happen. “We have to have town halls and conversations with our community to understand the impacts of introducing body-worn cameras and interactions with the community,” Bergen said.
