Expect to see Thunder Bay police wearing body cameras sometime this year.
Superintendent Dan Taddeo told the Police Services Board this week they’ve been checking to see what Toronto police have found, as well as Calgary, who tested the cameras in the cold western climate.
“They actually put the actual body worn cameras in buckets of snow of all these vendors, to test for battery life. Because something like battery life is extremely important, when you’re issuing these tools to the officers,” says Taddeo.
Thunder Bay police are also getting around COVID-19 in providing outside courtrooms remote access to interviews.
He revealed their current system can become backed up in sending material to the courts, but now what happens in the station can be seen live on video. “So this allows the management team to watch, for example, an interview of significant importance, and can inject advise or direction as it’s needed.”
The superintendent adds they download material onto disks, and sent them to whoever requires them. This can take a lot of time, considering how many copies may be needed. The new system will speed that up, putting the outside courtrooms connected via video.
