Body cameras coming for municipal officers in Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Newfoundland and Labrador's privacy commissioner says body cameras on Happy Valley-Goose Bay's municipal enforcement officers may be an unnecessary invasion of privacy.
Starting March 4, the department's employees will be outfitted with body cameras during their day-to-day tasks, such as conducting investigations and making traffic stops.
The town says the cost was $500 to outfit two constables and one animal control officer.
Privacy Commissioner Michael Harvey says he was surprised the town didn't notify his office of the plan.
"When a public body collects personal information, they need to do it in the minimum extent possible," Harvey said. "Our concern with body cameras and other forms of video surveillance is that they collect a maximal amount of personal information."
Harvey noted body cameras collect information about the person being recorded as well as the person wearing the device and anyone else around.
"We want to be sure that if a public body is collecting that amount of information, then it really needs to be doing it," he said.
The use of such cameras by law enforcement has been shown to "protect both officers and the general public" and "ensures transparency," said a news release from the town.
"All cameras within law enforcement, especially the body-worn cameras, it creates a protection for the citizens as well as the law enforcement officials that are wearing them," said Const. Larry Baker of the town's municipal enforcement.
Baker brought the idea to the town and its enforcement committee. It was then brought to the town's council, where the idea was fully supported.
Harvey acknowledges there may be legitimate reasons for the body camera initiative, but he wants the town to ensure no citizen ends up feeling as though they've lost their right to privacy.
"Advances in technology … make it easy for public bodies to collect personal information, but just because we can doesn't always mean that we should," he said. "It's important for the town to explain to the public why it's doing what it intends to do, and to get their feedback."
Few police forces or enforcement agencies in Canada have adopted body cameras. A recent pilot project in Montreal found them ineffectual, with a report concluding the cameras didn't build trust and left both civilians and officers feeling uncomfortable and overly monitored..
However, Calgary's police force has outfitted hundreds of its officers with the tool, with one sergeant saying constables appreciated having video evidence of their interactions with the public.
Video from the cameras aided a police shooting investigation last year.
The federal privacy commissioner's office, in a 2015 guide, said the technology "poses serious implications for individuals' right to privacy," citing the ability of body cameras to pick up the conversations or likenesses of bystanders.
The report also outlined the benefits of body cameras, such as a decrease in the use of force by law enforcement, but said those improvements should be balanced against the loss of privacy.
The report recommended deploying body cameras in a pilot project to better assess implications for privacy rights, while avoiding recording bystanders and maintaining awareness of cultural sensitivities.
Recordings should be encrypted, edit-proofed and stored on a secure server with access restricted on a need-to-know basis, according to the commissioner.
Baker says only he and the Happy Valley-Goose Bay town manager will have access to any video, which will only be released for the purposes of court trials.
The town said it "understands concerns relating to privacy," but did not elaborate further in its statement. Cameras in patrol vehicles have been a staple for years within the town.
"Enforcement officers work the majority of the time alone, so we think it's important we use these body cams," said Coun. Jackie Compton Hobbs.
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