Some members of the Guelph Police Service will start wearing body cameras later this year as part of a pilot project to enhance transparency and safety.
Police chief Gord Cobey referred to the move Tuesday in a statement he released in regards to what is being done locally to "ensure we are providing kind, compassionate and bias-free policing service for our community" in the wake of the uprising that has taken place around North America since the death of George Floyd.
A Black Lives Matter rally is being planned for Guelph on Saturday.
"We have received a number of questions in relation to our willingness to consider the use of body worn cameras for our members," wrote Cobey.
"We are very willing to examine the use of body worn cameras and we have been developing a pilot project that will see the implementation of body worn cameras by some of our members in the coming months. This project was approved as part of our 2020 Budget and we have been working diligently towards its implementation for several months."
This isn't the first time the force has looked at body cameras.
In 2016 the force said it planned on buying body cameras for frontline officers to wear, but it never happened despite having $75,000 set aside in its 10-year budget for their purchase.
"It's about accountability. We're out there in the community and it's important that we capture those interactions, even for the protection of our officers," then-chief Jeff DeRuyter said in a 2016 interview with GuelphToday.
The following is Cobey's Tuesday statement in its entireity:
The death of George Floyd has shaken the trust of many and has understandably caused some in our community to question what we are doing locally to ensure we are providing kind, compassionate and bias-free policing service for our community.
We are writing today to respond to these questions and re-assure our citizens that our top priority is the safety and security of all of our residents.
Each and every day, our members work to demonstrate our commitment to our core values of Pride, Service and Trust. We will always strive to earn the trust of our community. We recognize we are not perfect and we are committed to constant improvement in all areas of our work.
Our members participate in ongoing training in many important areas including diversity, inclusion and cultural sensitivity. In addition, training is provided in relation to mental health awareness and de-escalation strategies and victim impact awareness. Much of this learning is delivered in consultation and in collaboration with those with lived experience from our Guelph community.
We live in a very diverse, vibrant and thriving community and we are committed to working towards ensuring that our membership reflects the demographics of those we serve. Much work is done to increase our engagement with and recruitment of individuals who have historically been under-represented in policing. By embracing our diversity within our Service and our Community we will only strengthen our ability to serve and make the community proud of the work we do.
We are proud of the work our members do and we are committed to transparency in this regard. We have received a number of questions in relation to our willingness to consider the use of body worn cameras for our members. We are very willing to examine the use of body worn cameras and we have been developing a pilot project that will see the implementation of body worn cameras by some of our members in the coming months. This project was approved as part of our 2020 Budget and we have been working diligently towards its implementation for several months.
The safety and wellbeing of our community will always be our greatest priority. As we continue to move forward together we are grateful for the support and engagement of all those we serve.
We are committed to working together with our members and our community to learn from each other and build upon our history of providing kind, compassionate and bias-free policing service to all of our residents.
