(Submitted/Melfort RCMP)

By Cam Lee

RCMP body cams

Melfort RCMP detachment members to wear body cams this week

Apr 2, 2025 | 11:10 AM

The Melfort RCMP detachment will have body cameras for all officers by the end of this week.

The body cams are being rolled out over the coming year as 10,000 frontline officers across Canada will be wearing them.

“It’s one more piece of equipment that we have attached to the front of us, it’s going to be obvious to anyone that sees us in uniform because the camera is going to be essentially front-and-centre on our uniform,” explained Melfort Staff Sgt. Ryan Case. For the most part, the cameras will be strapped to the members’ vests.

Case said the cameras will also have lights flashing on them, and officers will communicate, as best as they can depending on circumstances, that they are wearing the cameras and recording.

“It’s just one more thing the public is going to see us using and having available at our disposal for investigative purposes.”

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The cameras allow for increased transparency for both RCMP officers and the public. Case said the cameras demonstrate what police are saying and how they are doing their job when it is duty-related, and it also provides accountability for the public when they interact with the police as well.

Another advantage of body cams, according to Case, is their evidentiary value. The cams record everything during interactions, and Case said what RCMP officers, and the public, see and observe helps form a large part of investigations.

“This audio recording and the video recording of those observations just substantiates and helps corroborate what we see as the police and what members of the public are seeing as well,” said Case.

He hopes the body cams also help prevent snippets of videos that are missing context, which can lead to misrepresentation and distortion that can be amplified via social media.

“With our cameras, and if it does involve us – the body cams being worn, that information will be there.”

Case wanted the public to know that by the end of the week, all members will be wearing body cams. The cameras are not optional, and Case said while officers have been trained on how to use them, they are still in the learning process themselves.

“It’s a bit of a learning process for us because it’s brand-spanking new for us, but we’ll catch on to it quickly,” he said.

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Cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com