Before discussing my experience with dash-cam cases, I wanted to reiterate that most police forces do not currently use this technology. I have yet to see a case in Quebec where the police cars were equipped with a camera. One of my early cases involving the OPP back in 2007 (Ottawa) had dash camera footage but this was phased out shortly after that. I have had a handful of cases in Toronto or the GTA where I had access to such video. More recently though, the only jurisdiction where I have consistently received it is with the RCMP. The RCMP patrols certain roads in Ottawa which are designated as “national capital” roadways. In almost all of my recent RCMP cases there has been video.

Police officers will be carrying a camera approximately the size of a pack of cards on the front of their uniform. The officers activate recording with audio and video during interactions with the public when the nature of the interaction is known to be, or become, investigative or enforcement related in nature.

There are many arguments raised as to why police cars shouldn’t have cameras. Often cost is cited. But as Justice Harris commented above, hours of resources (court time, judge’s time, prosecutor’s time, etc.) are spent on cases where many arguments could be resolved if there was clear audio/video evidence.

David Anber has been a trailblazing legal practitioner since 2006. His early entry into law practice during his studies marked the beginning of a distinguished career. As a member of both Ontario and Quebec’s bar associations, David excels in defending traffic and criminal cases across both provinces. David contributes to legal discourse through articles for the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa and the Criminal Lawyer’s Association of Ontario.

Legally, officers are not required to inform the public they are being recorded during an interaction, but they are trained to do so when they can.

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These are just a few ways in which video can be useful to defending an impaired driving charge, a drug stop, a traffic stop or any other type of investigation.

This argument, in my view, holds no weight. Rarely do I ever see a police report that “goes easy” on my clients. If my client is behaving like a jerk, there is no doubt that the officer will testify to what a jerk he/she was. And, in most instances, judges believe this (often uncontested) testimony of police officers. So, if my client is going to look bad, generally speaking, he’s not going to look much worse on video than he will based on the officer’s description.

Every police force’s system is different. With the RCMP in Ottawa there is a front facing camera that shows everything going on in front of the police cruiser. In most cases there is also a second camera pointed on the back seat (the caged in area) of the cruiser where the detainee sits. The police officers have a microphone on their body and there is an on-off switch on the microphone. Essentially, the video is constantly recording but constantly deleting itself after 30 seconds. When the officer turns the recording equipment on, the video is preserved from 30-seconds back and onward. The audio starts recording when the button is pressed.

Earlier, I made the argument that any infrequent downside is outweighed by a more frequent upside (and one of a greater magnitude). Here are just some recent examples of how dash-cam footage has brought about a good result for a client of my Law Office:

Body Worn Videos are expected to be deployed to the rest of the service in Spring 2025. The order in which other areas will receive body worn cameras is yet to be determined.

This is yet another case where an audio-video recording of events by means of a dash-cam and / or a body camera could have shortened or even eliminated the trial proceedings. The points in issue here included the length of time that Mr. Hamel drove along the shoulder of the highway before bringing his vehicle to a complete stop. A recording of these events by means of a dash-cam in the police car would likely have provided a clear answer to that question. Other points in issue were what was said to and by Mr. Hamel and when these things were said. An audio-video recording of these events by means of a body camera worn by Constable Morris might well have resolved those issues. Instead, we spent a full day hearing evidence and submissions and I spent many hours preparing these reasons for judgment.

To be clear, many – if not most – criminal defense lawyers share my view that cameras would be a good thing. But I have frequently heard lawyers say that it will just be more (and clearer) evidence that will make our clients look worse: more belligerent, drunker, more unreasonable, etc.

Lately, I have been frequently asked by clients if they can see the video footage from the dash-mounted cameras (aka dash-cams or dashboard cameras) in police cars.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call David or Matthew at David Anber’s law office for more information.

Yes, it is true that there are times where the prosecution’s case is improved by having video evidence. But from my experience this happens rarely. And for every time the prosecution’s case improved a little, I’d bet (from my experience) that there are 10 cases where the prosecutor’s case is harmed a lot.

I will point out that more than 30 per cent of the trials held in Halton Region in 2017 involved drinking / driving cases. The above comments are equally applicable to many of them. Some of these cases however took two or three days to complete in court rather than just one. It strikes me that it would be a much better allocation of resources to place cameras in police cars and on police officers thereby freeing up much of this court time and allowing us to hear cases in a more timely manner.

Body-worn video (BWV) cameras were mandated by the Government of Alberta in March 2023 for all police agencies in Alberta. Edmonton Police Service (EPS) initiated a proof of concept for BWV with a select group of officers in July 2023 to assess the operational impacts. EPS is now moving towards service-wide implementation of the cameras, meaning the public will start to notice more officers will be wearing a BWV camera.

I personally wish to echo these comments. In this day and age, it is incomprehensible that police cars / officers are not equipped with onboard cameras.

Section 33C and 33B of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act authorizes the collection of information from the public. The recordings are disclosed to the courts when required, but private information of third parties captured in any recording is first redacted.

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