Body Worn Cameras

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Units/Divisions are participating in the Pilot Project?
The Pilot Project will operate in the TAVIS Rapid Response Teams, Traffic Services, 55 Division Primary
Response Unit and 43 Division Community Response Unit. One hundred officers were selected because
of the type of, and frequency of, contact with the community. This will ensure a proper cross-section is
analyzed in order to make recommendations going forward.

2. What training will the officers be undergoing prior to the launch of the
Pilot Project?
The officers participating in the Pilot Project have undergone body worn camera training at the Toronto
Police College. This training has covered both the theory behind body worn cameras in addition to
technical training about how to operate the cameras.

3. When is the Service procedure governing the use of body-worn cameras

going to be finalized?
The body-worn camera procedure has been finalized for the purposes of the Pilot Project. As the
project evolves, the procedure may be amended and re-published.

4. How much did the Pilot Project cost?

The budget for the Body Worn Camera Pilot Project is $500,000.

5. How did the Service decide on the body-worn cameras that were chosen for
the Pilot Project?
After a Request for Proposals process, the Service contracted with three different companies in order to
test three types of body-worn cameras. The companies are Panasonic, Mediasolv and Integrys.

6. How will the Service inform the public about the Pilot Project?
The Service has already done a number of interviews with mainstream, ethnic and local community
media regarding the Pilot Project. We will be doing our own coverage and photo journal of the training,
which we will make available to the public. A media event will be held on Friday, May 15, 2015, in
advance of the cameras going into the community on May 18, 2015. An overview of the project has
been presented to a number of community groups and information will continue to be distributed to the
public.

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7. When will the body-worn camera be turned on and turned off?

A police officer will turn on the body-worn camera prior to arriving at a call for service or when they
start investigating an individual. An officer will turn on the camera anytime they are asking a person
questions for the purpose of collecting their information. A police officer will turn off the body-worn
camera when the call for service or investigation is complete or when the officer determines that
continuous recording is no longer serving its intended purpose.

8. How will I know if a body worn camera is on during my encounter with a

member of the Toronto Police Service?
All officers participating in the Pilot Project will be wearing full police uniforms. Participants will have
the body worn camera in plain view, and they will have a patch on their uniform. Officers are trained to
give notice as soon as reasonably possible that a body worn camera is in operation. The timing of this
notice may vary depending on the context of the encounter.

9. How do the police manage a request to turn off the body-worn camera?
The only time a request to turn off a body-worn camera will be actioned is when a police officer has
been given permission to enter a private home and the person granting permission has made the
request. This can happen before the officer enters the private home or at any time during the officers
presence in the private home.

10. How do the police manage the privacy interests of a complainant or victim
of crime?
The Body-Worn Camera Working Group has been working closely with the Information & Privacy
Commissioner of Ontario on various issues of privacy. Police officers will be trained on how to manage
situations that may be sensitive in nature. Appropriate vetting and editing of body-worn camera data
will be done for disclosure purposes.

11. How do the police manage the initial contact with a victim of sexual
assault or other crime that is of a sensitive nature?
Officers will be trained to be aware of interactions with the public that may be sensitive in nature, such
as when children are present, during a sexual assault or domestic violence investigation, or when
someone is in a state of undress. However, whether a body-worn camera is turned on, or remains on, is
still based on the procedure.

12. If I have been recorded, can I ask to see the video? Can I ask to have it
deleted?
At the time of recording, the data cannot be accessed, reviewed, edited or deleted. Any request to view
or edit the data must be made through the relevant provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information
and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).
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13. What if I am an innocent bystander and a body worn camera records me?
Officers will make every reasonable effort to capture only the relevant incident for which the body worn
camera is in operation. Bystanders have the option of talking with the officer who is wearing the body
worn camera to obtain more information. Bystanders may also make a request for access to the video
under the relevant provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(MFIPPA).

14. How long will the body-worn camera data be stored?

The body-worn camera data will be stored for a minimum of one year unless there is a reason to retain
it longer, such as for court purposes or an ongoing investigation.

15. Where will the body-worn camera data be stored?

The body-worn camera data will be encrypted and stored on a secure server owned and operated by the
Toronto Police Service.

16. How will the data from the body-worn cameras be downloaded?
At the end of every shift, a police officer will take his/her body-worn camera and dock it at one of the
porting stations in their unit/division. Once docked, the data will automatically be uploaded to the
secure server.

17. Who will be able to access the body-worn camera data?

At the time of recording, the data cannot be accessed, reviewed, edited, or deleted. Once the data has
been uploaded to the secure server, only the officer who took the body-worn camera data and his/her
supervisor will be able to access and review the images.

18. Who is permitted to edit the body-worn camera data?

Only the staff at Video Services will be permitted to edit/vet the body-worn camera data, as per Service
procedures covering video recordings.

19. What provisions will exist to vet/edit any recording prior to disclosure in
court?
All body-worn camera data will be considered as part of the standard process for disclosure as dictated
by R v Stinchcombe, meaning body-worn camera data will be part of the full and fair disclosure the
Crown Attorney is obligated to provide to defence.

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20. What is the Services policy on officers having the opportunity to watch the
video before making notes?
An officer will make his/her notes in compliance with standard operating procedures. If, after reviewing
the video, a change to the notes is needed, an addendum can be done that includes a reference to the
review of body-worn camera footage.

21. Will the video captured by the body worn camera Pilot Project be used for
any secondary purposes, such as training materials for police officers?
It is expected that some materials captured by the body worn cameras could be used by the Toronto
Police Service to improve performance and to provide necessary training. However, any video that is
used in this way will be vetted to ensure the privacy of all individuals.

22. My question is not answered here. Who will answer my question?

The Body-Worn Camera Working Group is prepared to answer any question from a member of the
Service or from the public. Please send your question to BWC.FAQ@torontopolice.on.ca. Or you can
join the conversation on Twitter #TOCopCams

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