The Ottawa Police Service is delaying the rollout of body cameras on officers until 2026 “at the earliest,” as it deals with financial pressures next year.
In February, Chief Eric Stubbs suggested a pilot project to equip officers with body cameras was expected to begin at the end of this year or the beginning of 2025.
However, a report for the Ottawa Police Service’s Board’s finance and audit committee says financial challenges and “inherent risks” with the 2025 budget are forcing the service to delay the launch of the program at least another year.
Council has directed the Ottawa Police Service to draft the 2025 budget with a 2.9 per cent increase, resulting in an extra $15.3 million for police next year. The report for the committee says the budget will not “fully address some significant short and longer term financial and operational risks and does not fund some strategic initiatives.”
One of those initiatives will be the rollout of body cameras, as the service must address other technology assets.
“The Service has a requirement to regularly replace and enhance technology assets to remain efficient and effective operationally, while enabling strategic initiatives to advance,” says the report drafted by Stubbs.
“Under the proposed budgeting scenario, this will not occur at the level required and the roll-out of Body Worn Cameras will be delayed into 2026 at the earliest.”
The Ottawa Police Service’s Board approved a pilot project for body cameras in 2016, but no officers were equipped with the cameras. Former chief Peter Sloly revived the discussion in 2020.
The 2023 Ottawa Police Services budget included funding for a body-worn camera pilot project and the accompanying data storage infrastructure, called Digital Evidence Management System or DEMS. Stubbs told reporters in February that getting the data storage in place is a crucial first step before body cameras are rolled out, and once installed, the pilot project can begin.
The report for the finance and audit committee provides no other information about the reason for the delay in rolling out the body cameras.
The Ottawa Police Association supports body-worn cameras for officers.
In May, the Cornwall Police Service began the first phase of a body-worn camera pilot project. Brockville police began using body-worn cameras on some officers in 2023.
Police in Vancouver and Toronto use body-worn cameras and the Alberta government mandated them across the province in 2023.
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond