While forces across the country proceed carefully, Peel Police rushes ahead with accelerated plan for body-worn cameras

The problem: will cameras on officers turn around a force that has been plagued by allegations of systemic discrimination and widespread misconduct, or will it just paper over the root causes that might get ignored?

The approval of the project with limited analysis ahead of time, and no pilot phase, is a stark departure from the common practice in other police jurisdictions in Ontario and the country.

Peel Regional Police is sprinting ahead with an effort to equip all frontline officers with body-worn cameras.

The initiative has received heavy criticism from members of the public and will have to contend with a number of hurdles from a practical perspective, such as the “tsunami” of data that will have to be managed.

With so many unanswered questions, it’s unclear why Peel Police is rushing ahead with the project.

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Published in The Pointer Brampton and The Pointer Mississauga on September 18, 2020