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Volume 43 No. 17
November 18, 2014
55 tests body-worn video cameras by Andrew Hudson
LOCAL POLICE will start using body-worn video cameras this spring as part of a yearlong pilot project. About 20 officers in 55 Division’s primary response unit will start training with the cameras in January before using them for actual investigations in April or May. Speaking at a public meeting last week, Staff-Sergeant Michael Barsky, the project lead, said the hope is that body-worn cameras will improve how police and the public behave toward each other, and provide better evidence to the courts. Barsky stressed it is “truly a pilot,” noting that no money has been set aside yet to equip the whole force. “If this is the right thing for the right reasons, we will recommend the City of Toronto find capital in the budget for it,” said Barsky. “But if it’s not, I assure you I’m not going to put pen to paper and endorse something that’s not good for the citizens of Toronto and the Toronto Police Service.” At the meeting, city councillor Paula Fletcher and members of the local policecommunity liaison committee asked several questions about privacy concerns. Like the cameras installed
INSIDE PHOTO: ANDREW HUDSON
Marching in remembrance James Levine marches in the colour guard of Royal Canadian Legion, Baron Byng Beaches branch (1/42), during the Remembrance Day parade to the Kew Gardens cenotaph on Nov. 11. This year commemorated the start of World War I. For more photos, see pages 16 and 17.
Art on Page 8
two years ago in all Toronto’s marked police vehicles, Barsky said police will only switch on the body-worn cameras during an active investigation. “It’s not to be used for surveillance,” he said. “It’s overt, not covert. You’re never going to endorse our officers just walking through a community and pushing ‘record’.” Whether answering a call about a break-and-enter or investigating someone tinkering with a bicycle, Barsky said the officers will notify any potential witness or suspect they are being recorded. The officers will also have a video-camera symbol on their uniform, and two of the three camera types being tested in the pilot have a light that flashes when recording. The other has an outward-facing video screen to show what the camera sees. Besides an on/off switch, each camera has a mute button, intended to allow at-risk witnesses to speak to police on camera while shielding their identity. Asked about bystanders and children who walk into view, Barsky said once an officer files video to a central server, police in the Video Services unit will blur them out in a review copy and store the original for the courts. Cont’d. on Page 31
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Entertainment Beat........4 Deja Views.....................7 Beach Art Scene............8 Community Calendar.....10 BMN’s Neighbourhood...11 Pet of the Month.........12 Write on Health.............14 Food and Drink..............18 Garden Views...............19 Beach Memories...........20 Write on Health............21
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