In about two weeks frontline Toronto Police officers in north Etobicoke will be issued body-worn cameras to record their interactions with residents.

The Toronto Police Services Board at its meeting on August 18 voted to move ahead with the camera technology, which will be rolled out at the end August at a cost of more than $30 million.

“Body-worn cameras will be used to create trust and legitimacy between officers and the public as we continue to modernize policing services,” said Interim Chief James Ramer. “This technology provides an independent, bias-free account of our interactions.”

By this fall, some 2,350 cameras will be in use across the city. All officers will be trained on the use of the camera and the associated governance, which include minimum penalties for non-compliance.

The force has worked with the Information & Privacy Commissioner, the Ministry of the Attorney General, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Special Investigations Unit, and the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, to develop a program that considers privacy, security, and disclosure responsibilities.
The cameras will be used when an officer arrives at a call for service, begins an investigation, or when asking a person questions for the purposes of collecting information.

The Board also approved a comprehensive policing reform package to address systemic racism and improve trust with communities.

The force plans to develop an alternative community safety response for new and existing models of community safety response, including mobile mental health and addictions crisis intervention.

They plan to expand the Mobile Crisis Intervention Program with existing community-based crisis services, including peer support, to meet current demands for mental health-related service calls, in an aim to provide services 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

The Chief is to make permanent an Anti-Racism Training component of the annual re-training and In-Service Training Program and create a stand-alone course that contributes to the delivery of fair and unbiased police services to Toronto’s diverse communities.

The Board’s Anti-Racism Advisory Panel and the Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Panel, will become permanent with expanded mandates that will bring the voices of community and expert organizations together in providing advice to the Board.

The Board also approved recommendations regarding the selection process for the new Chief of Police, mechanisms to make disciplinary proceedings under the Police Services Act more transparent and accessible and  increased collaboration with the City’s Anti-Black Racism Unit.