The Ottawa Police Service plans equip another 200 officers with body-worn cameras this fall, as it continues to rollout the cameras across the force. Thirty Axon Body-Worn Cameras were deployed in November 2025 to members of the Crisis Intervention Team and designated sergeants on the frontline. During Monday’s Ottawa Police Service’s Board meeting, Supt. Dave Zackrias said the service continues work to equip more officers with body-worn cameras. “We are going to be implementing or deploying 200 body-worn cameras from September till December,” Zackrias said in response to a question from Coun. Cathy Curry. Zackrias said there is one full day of training for officers to learn about the body-worn cameras and how to operate the system. “We actually did the train the trainer, so we had to bring a trainer from Toronto to come and train our members to provide training when we do the deployment of the body-worn cameras,” he said. “So, it’s a process; it’s a staged process of implementation. So, from September till December, we have plans to deploy about 200 cameras, and then next year the rest of the cameras.” The Ottawa Police Service has said it intends to equip all frontline officers with body-worn cameras by the end of 2027, which would mean purchasing an additional 850 cameras. In June, police entered into a five-year contract with Axon for the body-worn cameras and supporting hardware, including the AI era bundle of capabilities, at a cost of $27 million. Zackrias said it will “take some time” for the Ottawa Police Service to do data analysis to see the benefits of the cameras for saving time for officers. “We have a translation feature to make things easier and also we have a feature where officers can actually, you know, use a body-worn camera feature to do their reports as well,” Zackrias said. “So instead of doing the reports at the station and tied up to a desk, they can all do that through sort of applying, leveraging some of this technology. So, in order for you to see the actual return on investment or the value proposition for this equipment, it’s going to take a bit of time.” Police have previously said the body-worn cameras offer “several operational and community benefits” to officers and the public, including:
