The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) will begin equipping officers with body-worn cameras in November, it announced on Wednesday, aligning the city with a growing number of other Canadian municipalities.
The initial pilot will distribute 30 bodycams to members of the police Crisis Intervention Team and other officers, to be worn during regular duties, including responding to calls involving individuals in crisis, the OPS said in a statement.
The deployment of bodycams is "aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability, and community confidence in policing across Ottawa," the statement said.
The OPS has been preparing the project since 2023, with an earlier planned rollout delayed by budget constraints.
The OPS statement said the move "directly responds" to jury recommendations from the coroner's inquest into the death of Abdirahman Abdi.
Abdi was a Somali-Canadian man who died in July 2016 after a violent police arrest. The inquest made 57 recommendations around preventing deaths in custody, including "assessing" the use of bodycams.
The 30 Axon Body 4 cameras cost nearly $600,000 for a 39-month term and will be funded from the OPS IT modernization roadmap budget, according to a report from the chief to the Ottawa Police Service Board.
More officers will be equipped with bodycams in 2026 and 2027, "pending future budget approvals," the OPS said.
Toronto police began wearing body cameras in 2020, while Vancouver piloted a program last year.
The Alberta government announced in March 2023 that body-worn cameras would become mandatory for all police officers in the province.
[SRC] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-police-to-start-wearing-bodycams-in-november-1.7642484
