An RCMP officer wears a body camera at the detachment in Bible Hill, N.S. on Sunday, April 18, 2021. The RCMP will begin its rollout of body-worn cameras for RCMP officers across the country next week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

RCMP rolls out body-worn cameras for officers nationally

by · CityNews

OTTAWA — The RCMP will begin its rollout of body-worn cameras for RCMP officers across the country next week.

It expects deployment of more than 10,000 cameras to be finished in the next 12 to 18 months.

The RCMP says the cameras serve as an objective record of how officers interact with the community.

Officers will wear the cameras on their chests, and the cameras will flash red lights to indicate they are recording.

The RCMP says the cameras won’t be worn for surveillance or for 24-hour recordings.

They also won’t be used in settings with a high expectation of privacy, such as washrooms or hospitals, or during strip or body cavity searches.