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Who has access to RCMP body camera footage? Can I ask a police officer to turn off their camera? How long is footage stored? Read on for answers as the RCMP rolls out bodycams in B.C.
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Forty-four Mission RCMP officers will receive body cameras next week as the national police force begins providing the recording devices to all its uniformed police officers in B.C.
By early 2026, about 3,000 B.C. Mounties who work on the streets will be equipped with cameras that they’re required to activate before arriving at a call or initiating contact with someone as part of an investigation.
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“Once the cameras are in use across the province, the video will provide us with an unbiased, first-person account of incidents involving the police and members of the public,” Dwayne McDonald, commanding officer of the B.C. RCMP, said at a news conference Thursday.
After Mission next week, officers in Tofino, Ucluelet, Cranbrook, Kamloops and Prince George will receive cameras. Eventually, officers in 144 detachments in 150 municipalities across B.C. will wear them. Several municipal police departments have already started to introduce them as well.
Here are answers to some of the most common questions about the RCMP’s use of body cameras:
Q: Will bodycams be recording at all times?
A: In order to begin recording, an RCMP officer must activate the camera, which is worn on the front of his or her vest. Before this, the camera is in standby mode, capturing 30 seconds of images without audio. This 30-second buffer is consistently being recorded over until the officer hits the camera’s record button, at which point the 30 seconds of muted video is attached to the recording to show the moments leading up to the camera’s activation.
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RCMP officers will only activate their cameras while in the “lawful execution of their duties.” This means before arriving at a call for service, or when deciding to initiate contact with a person for the purpose of a police investigation. Police will also use cameras to record statements normally taken in the field, interactions with people in custody, or in “any other situation or incident where a member believes capturing audio and/or video evidence would support them in the lawful execution of their duties.”
The cameras will not be used in surveillance or 24-hour recording. Aside from urgent circumstances, they won’t be turned on in places where there is an expectation of privacy, such as private homes, hospitals and religious places.
Q: What happens if an officer forgets to turn on the camera — or intentionally turns it off during an investigation?
A: Turning off a camera requires a long, three-second hold, so it isn’t easy to do accidentally. Police officers can decide to turn off the camera if “safety is no longer a concern and further recording no longer benefits the investigation,” but they will need to document intentional and accidental deactivations.
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If they don’t turn on the camera, or deliberately turn it off in contravention of policy, they may be subject to “internal disciplinary processes.”
“It’s in the best interest of our officers to capture video,” said McDonald. “I think it’s important to remember that in addition to the calls from the public for greater transparency and greater accountability for the police, it’s also in police best interest to give the objective viewpoint of what’s happening with the interaction with the public.”
Q: How do I know if I’m being recorded?
A: The camera will show three blinking red lights below the lens when recording. Officers, if possible, should inform people when they are being recorded.
Q: Can I ask an officer to turn the camera off?
A: Yes, but officers must follow a policy that says that where there are concerns for police or public safety, or if the video has investigational value, it must be left on.
The needs of victims are reflected in the RCMP’s policy. If an officer temporarily obstructs the video to protect someone’s privacy, they must provide a rationale in their notebook or as part of the recording.
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Q: How long is the video footage stored?
A: Video will be stored for 30 days or up to two years. If it’s needed for an investigation, court case or police complaint, it could be stored much longer.
“Generally, the more serious the incident or crime, the longer the video is kept.”
Q: Who has access to the video footage — and can it be edited?
A: Police officers will only have access to their own recorded material, but if needed for an investigation, they can request access to another officer’s footage by providing a rationale.
Original video recordings cannot be edited and will be retained in the digital evidence management system in their original form. Access to the video is automatically recorded in an audit log that includes employee information, along with the time and date.
Q: How do I get access to body camera footage of myself?
A: People can request access to a recording of themselves by making an Access to Information request.
The RCMP may also decide to make footage from a body camera public in special cases when it is in the public interest to do so, in much the same way that they do when they make public safety announcements.
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Q: How much is this going to cost?
A: The federal government has committed $238.5 million over six years and $50 million ongoing annual funding to implement body cameras and a digital evidence management system for the RCMP. Municipalities will have to make up the rest.
The cost per camera is about $3,000 a year.
Q: When will my detachment receive bodycams?
A: After Mission next week, Tofino, Ucluelet, Cranbrook, Kamloops and Prince George will receive cameras. Fort St. John and the surrounding Peace region will roll out cameras in January 2025. The remainder of the province will follow, with all 3,000 uniformed officers in B.C. expected to use cameras by early 2026.
Weather was taken into account in determining the order of communities that will receive cameras and training. For example, in areas where there is wildfire risk, the cameras will be rolled out between January and May, not during fire season.
Q: Why is the RCMP requiring uniformed police officers to wear body cameras?
A: The introduction of body cameras is now the national standard for the RCMP, said McDonald.
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He said the cameras will address calls “I have personally heard” from local, regional, Indigenous and provincial leaders to address the need to enhance public trust and confidence in policing.
“Body-worn cameras and the digital evidence management system is more than just a new tool in the RCMP’s modernization efforts. I am hopeful it is also viewed as a pivotal step toward addressing systemic racism,” he said.
Q: What about municipal police departments in cities that don’t have the RCMP?
A: Many B.C. municipal police departments, including Vancouver police and the Surrey Police Service, either plan to implement body cameras or are in the process of testing them already.
Police forces in B.C. are joining many across North America in implementing the technology, responding to calls for more police accountability and transparency and a belief that the cameras will reduce the use of force by police — and against police. They are in use in many cities in Canada already, including Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon.
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With files from Gordon Hoekstra
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