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Building support for the Nunavut body cam pilot project

Use of recording devices expected to help the public and the courts better understand the nature of controversial encounters
bodycams
From left, Const. Ethan Turnbull, Const. Alex Rebel, Sgt. Mike Smook and Const. Michele Michaud, all of Iqaluit detachment, modelling body cameras in June.

This is the second instalment in a series on the campaign to have officers use body-worn cameras in Nunavut.  

Navigating bureaucratic processes for body cameras to become a reality in Nunavut required widespread support. Former senator Dennis Patterson credits Amanda Jones, the 's chief superintendent for Nunavut at the time, for playing a pivotal role. 

She SA国际影视传媒渂elieved that the implementation of body-worn cameras would improve police community relations in Nunavut, and [she] set the tone for all the senior officers in Ottawa and Nunavut who believed that there were times when exposing the reality of situations faced by members occasionally face in community policing would help the courts and the public understand the challenges faced by police in small communities dealing with very tense situations," Patterson said. "There was also a willingness in the police to expose their members to scrutiny to monitor and perhaps, at times, critically review police behaviour and actions to ensure that best practices were applied at all times.SA国际影视传媒

Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone also expressed appreciation for the police force, particularly the Iqaluit , with whom he has worked closely for a number of years.

SA国际影视传媒淭he play a crucial role in providing public safety. They work hard and do their best. They also respond to a very high level of calls.

SA国际影视传媒淚t is important to note,SA国际影视传媒 continued Lightstone, SA国际影视传媒渢hat Nunavut are exposed to very high levels of stress and violence that does take a toll on an individualSA国际影视传媒SA国际影视传媒檓 not trying to excuse excessive force, I just think it is likely that it is likely correlated.

"I just would like the public to take that into considerationSA国际影视传媒 The play a critical role in addressing the rates of violence."

Patterson said it took the collective efforts of many in the territory to move the initiative through the federal government. GN deputy minister Stephen Mansell and former MLA and Pond Inlet mayor David Qamaniq played prominent roles, he recalled. 

Then-federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair eventually made a "remarkable" announcement in the Senate of Canada that Nunavut would become the first jurisdiction in Canada to pilot body-worn cameras for the , Patterson said.

Prior to that announcement, the parties involved tackled important policy questions, including how to respect citizensSA国际影视传媒 privacy, especially in their homes; the protocol members would employ in turning on and off their body-worn cameras and consultation and communication with the public. Technical staff from the in Ottawa answered questions about how body-worn cameras would work in the cold, how to store information in communities with limited bandwidth and the use of body-worn camera footage in court.

The project required the development of protocols and policies for the and the purchase of equipment that would work in Nunavut's sometimes frigid temperatures. 

The GN was concerned that the federal government did not have the financial means to support the implementation of this project, according to Patterson. In the Senate, he asked the federal government to shoulder the cost of this new initiative.

The GN, the 's V Division and the Government of Canada agreed to a body-worn camera pilot project in Iqaluit during the fall of 2020. 

SA国际影视传媒淭he goal of the pilot project was to evaluate processes and best practices with existing technology in remote regions and to engage the community on perceptions and satisfaction with the technology,SA国际影视传媒 stated Robin Percival, media relations representative for the .

Andrew Blackadar, chief superintendent of the Nunavut , recalled that engaging the local media and working directly with the Inuit community were key parts of the rollout of the pilot project. He said community members were SA国际影视传媒渆ager to understandSA国际影视传媒 why the police would adopt body cameras and what it would mean.

SA国际影视传媒淸Nunavut ] did a lot of very good work on relationships and rolling out the cameras, and I think that was paramount... there was a positive response from the community... I think itSA国际影视传媒檚 one of these de-escalation techniques, that when a police person arrives, a person notices [the cameras] and tends to become more compliant,SA国际影视传媒 said Blackadar.

The main goal of the body cameras is SA国际影视传媒渋ncreased transparency, while also providing a first-person view of what a police officer encounters, oftentimes in highly dynamic and tense situations,SA国际影视传媒 Percival stated. SA国际影视传媒淭he objectives of the body-worn camera project are strengthening transparency, accountability and public trust, resolving public complaints more quickly, improving interactions between the public and police and improving evidence gathering. This initiative will see more than 10,000 cameras rolled out across the country when rollout is complete.SA国际影视传媒



Kira Wronska Dorward

About the Author: Kira Wronska Dorward

I attended Trinity College as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto, graduating in 2012 as a Specialist in History. In 2014 I successfully attained a Master of Arts in Modern History from UofT..
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