Body cameras must be made mandatory, but according to a “single model” which would apply in “all police forces in Quebec”, recommends the government committee responsible for studying the question since 2020. For the moment, the Legault government remains silent about its intentions.
“Governance unique to all of Quebec would allow the gradual implementation of portable cameras in Quebec by reducing the risks inherent in it,” say the committee’s experts in their report made public on Friday. They suggest that the government “deploy the portable cameras according to a progressive plan”, establishing from the start a deployment sequence “according to pre-established criteria”.
In Quebec, but especially in Greater Montreal, the debates on the need to implement body cameras – which would document the interactions of police officers with citizens – are causing a lot of ink to flow, especially since the increase in the number of shootings in the territory. .
In October, The Press revealed that the Montreal police have extended their tests to use cell phones as cameras. This “proof of concept” ended this fall, too late for the program to be put into service before the end of the year, as Mayor Valérie Plante had promised during the election campaign last year.
The mechanics, the financing
If they are located in Quebec, body cameras must be used according to “a selection of events that must be subject to the activation of the camera”, note the commissioners. They also recommend creating a “National Video Processing Center” to ensure the “uniform processing” of videos and its linkage with the justice system.
“It is essential that the computer system on which the videos would be recorded is reliable. These must be able to be consulted at any time, both by the prosecutor and by the defense lawyer or by the unrepresented accused to whom access would have been given, ”we also read in the report.
To finance the measure, the committee proposes three methods to be studied: passing the bill on to the police forces themselves, entirely government financing or even a sharing of the costs between the two.
In the police community, however, resistance to funding the measure is fierce. At the Federation of Municipal Police Officers of Quebec (FPMQ), for example, the door is already closing. “For it to be viable to install these cameras, it is clear that it must be 100% funding by the ministry. This is what will ensure full deployment throughout Quebec,” says the organization’s spokesperson, Annick Charest.
Training, but not too much dissemination
The commissioners also recommend the creation of a “uniform training program offered by the National Police School of Quebec” on body cameras. Everything would take the form of “training for active police officers of approximately 2 days, of which approximately 30% online and 70% face-to-face”.
Eventually, the training would be integrated “with the initial training in patrol-gendarmerie”. In Toronto, the training of police officers – who already have body cameras – also lasts approximately two days, “including approximately 15% online and 85% face-to-face”, justifies the committee.
The public distribution of videos, however, would be much more controlled than in the United States, for example. The group affirms that “the images should in no case be transmitted other than via the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).
Once all the evidence has been sent to the defence, it would then be “possible, even probable, that these images will be publicly broadcast”, it is raised. The committee also recommends that Quebec prepare a government communication campaign to install the cameras, and measure the repercussions in a “precise” way over time.
Cautious in Quebec, impatient in Montreal
In the office of the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, we remain for the moment very cautious about the government’s intentions. “We are not at the point of revealing orientations. It will come in time and place, but for the moment, our teams are still in discussion, ”simply replied the press officer, Émilie Toussaint, on Friday.
Mayor Valérie Plante said she welcomed the report “positively”. “We look forward to knowing the scenario that will be retained by the ministry. One thing is certain: in Montreal, we are ready to move forward and equip our police officers with the best project,” said its press secretary, Marikym Gaudreault.
“We also agree with the need to move up a gear and opt for a solution that would be standardized across the province to ensure its success, particularly because of the receptivity of evidence in court. and for the financial aspect which would make it possible to achieve an economy of scale at the provincial level”, she concluded.