In the summer of 2023, some 35 EPS officers were in a pilot program to wear the devices. About the size of a deck of cards, they are meant to be turned on when a public interaction starts.

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Benefits touted included easy recording and filing, more detail about the entire scene picture, and that it was harder to block.

“If we have complaints made against officers, we can actually get right into the video, and actually see what happened,” he said.

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“I think it certainly holds our members accountable. I think sometimes people may react differently knowing they’re being filmed, from accountability perspective,” Hill said.

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CRIMM was billed as a way to build an information system touted to modernize and streamline police record-keeping and improve crime analytics.

In the spring budget update, he asked to put more than $4 million earmarked for in-car video cameras toward the Computer Automated Dispatch and Records Management System Integration, Modernization, and Maximization (CRIMM) project instead.

On the RCMP’s website, the federal agency estimates body-worn cameras cost $3,000 per camera per year, including camera, a digital evidence management system and RCMP staff to manage the program — all for a subscription with software-as-service model.

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“We’ve got 1,900 (members) but we don’t need to put them on everybody. We’re going to focus on PSU patrol, some of those sensitive areas that have a lot of interaction with the public.”

“The use of in-car video is expected to modernize the Edmonton Police Service (EPS), increase public accountability, protect members, provide EPS with essential data and improve court outcomes,” the report said.

The RCMP website clarifies the body cameras aren’t for 24-7 use, but for things like mental health calls, interactions with people in crisis, crimes in progress, investigations, public disorder and protests.

The dash-cam involved integrating equipment into the vehicle — cameras, video storage, and networking equipment, with additional technology needed for the storage, review, evidence, retrieval, and disclosure of video.

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On March 23, 2021, security cameras captured the arrest of a man taken down by five EPS officers outside Transcend Coffee in Ritchie.

“The reduction in planned funding increases has delayed the implementation of in-car video, and the $4 million was therefore moved to the CRIMM project … It is also important to consider flexibility in our business plans when the environment changes,” he stated.

McFee, who was sworn in as EPS chief in February 2019, said he expects all members will have body cameras within 18 months.

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The footage shows an officer kicking the suspect in the head, forcing him face-first onto the ground, and standing on him, while another officer arriving later shocked the suspect with a Taser.

Ellis promised an open procurement process, but didn’t specify whether the province or municipalities would shoulder costs. He appointed a working group including law enforcement leaders to study the matter, including where funds could come from.

At the time, a joint email response from Matthew Barker, executive director of the police commission, said in-car cameras were delayed because city council didn’t give the police the budget increases it expected.

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Dash-cams have been discontinued for Edmonton Police Service members and the budget is at the heart of the decision, said Chief Dale McFee Thursday.

In December 2020, an EPS report to the city estimated the total budget requirement for in-car video at  $5.1 million, to be kicked off with $2 million from the vehicles capital budget.

“We don’t have the resources to do both, plus the human resources to do both, so we’re just going to focus on getting the body cams rolled out, and then once we get that completed, we can revisit the dash cams.

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Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said the cameras would build public trust in police, who respond to “complex calls that can raise concerns about whether appropriate force was used.”

“To do both of those projects takes a lot of back end resources,” he said, citing staff for video collection and storage, redaction and disclosure.

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“The Edmonton Police Service has chosen to implement in-car video because our research has indicated it is currently the best video tool for our organization,” the report said, citing scale of investment as easier to manage (400 cars vs. 1,000 officers) and connectivity and car power for continuous operation.

In March 2023, Alberta’s UCP government pledged to make Alberta the first province to require police officers to wear body cameras.

“The in-car camera project has not been abandoned. The police commission is currently looking to current and future budget opportunities to continue this work.”

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