Officers at the Huntsville Detachment of the OPP can now be seen wearing body-worn cameras (BWCs).
A release says the goal is to better enable evidence collection, demonstrate greater accountability and transparency, and enhance public and officer safety.
The cameras are worn on the front of the officer's vest and are clearly visible to anyone an officer may be interacting with. The BWC will display a visible ring of flashing green lights when in standby mode which will turn to flashing red lights once the BWC begins recording.
Officers are currently being trained on the use of the new technology and full rollout for the Huntsville OPP should be completed by early spring. Officers trained are already wearing BWCs.
After years of study, North Bay police are still not using the cameras. Police Chief Daryl Longworth blames a civilian staffing shortage that makes bringing in the new technology too much of a challenge.
See: North Bay body-worn camera project hits pause
The Greater Sudbury Police Service plan to begin rolling out body-worn cameras as part of a pilot project this year.
See: Sudbury body-worn cameras to roll out in 2025 pilot project. North Bay still on hold
A Sudbury police spokesperson says the body-worn cameras will start out as a pilot program with a small subset of frontline staff to work out the program’s kinks before expanding it to the entirety of GSPS.