The City of St. Albert is looking to purchase seven in-car video systems for local police cruisers, but won't say if they will be for the RCMP or municipal enforcement.
A request for proposals (RFP) released late last month states the city wants forward-facing cameras as well as rear-seat cameras, a digital management system to store all video footage, and the software must also be compatible with body-worn cameras if the city decides to move in that direction.
City spokesperson Kathy DeJong also wouldn't say what, if anything, triggered a need for the vehicle cameras because of a desire to protect the “integrity of the procurement and bidding process.”
DeJong also cited the procurement process as the reason why the city wasn't able to answer other questions, such as if there's a threshold or measure in place that would trigger the city procuring body cameras for police officers.
“The City of St. Albert is dedicated to following a fair and transparent procurement competition process and will be able to answer further questions once the contract is awarded,” she said.
The RFP says the cameras must have automatic recording activation whenever an officer turns on the vehicle's lights, or reaches a certain speed. These settings are very similar to the RCMP's national In-Car Digital Video System program which was implemented over 25 years ago.
“The vendor shall propose a system of which the components include in-car cameras, body cameras, digital file management system, server hardware, and storage for the associated audio/video files ... that will allow for the capture and preservation of interactions between police officers and the public,” the city's RFP states.
On the back end of the new technology, the RFP says the city wants a digital management system that will allow designated users to access footage, and will allow two specific users to redact footage. Who the two specific users would be is not specified.
“Critical to the project is to minimally impact officers' time required for entering data into the system related to an event type or case number, and the time required to transfer digital files from the dash cameras and (body-worn cameras) to the (audio visual) management system.”
Cst. M.J. Burroughs, a spokesperson for the St. Albert RCMP, told the Gazette the majority of the detachment's vehicles already have in-car video systems, although the community policing vans do not.
“Also, a couple of our unmarked police units do have in-car video systems but a few do not,” Burroughs said.
The RCMP's website says that as of 2020, over 2,500 vehicles have in-car video systems installed.
“The intention is to enhance transparency and accountability if questions, concerns, or accusations against the RCMP arise after an incident, and to provide evidence for prosecution should an incident constitute a crime,” the website reads.
“The objective remains to provide RCMP officers with tools that allow them to meet the challenges of modern policing in a constantly changing environment.”
The city employs 11 municipal enforcement officers who are also referred to as peace or bylaw officers, although one of the officers, a sergeant, isn't considered a front-line role.
The RFP doesn't say what the budget is for the cameras, or give a deadline for when the city wants them installed.
