Saint John decides to equip police officers with body cameras

Saint John to equip police with body cams City says it's a priority, even during a period of cost-cutting. Mike Cameron reports.

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Police in New Brunswick's Kennebecasis Valley were among the first in the country to equip officers with body cameras.

Since then, other major police departments have followed suit, including in Fredericton.

Now, Saint John is signing up.

"There is a voice out there that says we need more transparency, and I think this is going to be another layer that offers that to the public for sure," said Jim Hennessy, the Saint John Police Force spokesman.

This week, the region's largest city came one step closer to using bodycams.

The Halifax Board of Police Commissioners requested a city hall staff report looking into a potential pilot project.

Officers in Kentville, N.S., have worn body-cameras on duty since 2018 after a successful pilot project began in the town in 2015.

The purchase of body cameras, and all the technology that goes with them, comes at a time that the City of Saint John is trying to dig itself out of a financial hole, including cutting city department budgets, like the police budget.

The cost of cameras, training and data storage will be $770,000 over five years.

"That is a big number," Hennessy said. "We're not trying to downplay that that isn't a large number, but again, given the call that there is more transparency, this is one of the ways that we can provide it."

With policing under the microscope more than ever, people who study the justice system say bodycams are fast becoming one of the necessary costs of police work.

"The reality is, is that the infrastructure around body-worn camera technology is not cheap, but it is value added to the organization and for the public with the sense of accountability for the organization," said Mary Ann Campbell of the UNBSJ Centre for Criminal Justice.

Saint John police expect the cameras to be fully operational in November.