Montreal police officers are set to be equipped with body cameras within the next year, with implementation possibly starting in just six months, as reported by Radio-Canada. The initial news was unveiled by La Presse and subsequently verified by Radio-Canada. The city’s plan includes outfitting 3,500 police officers with body cameras and installing vehicular cameras and automated license plate readers in around 600 patrol vehicles.
In a move that follows through on an election promise, Mayor Martinez Ferrada’s administration allocated $40 million in its inaugural municipal budget in January for the body camera initiative. Further details on this development are anticipated to be disclosed at a news conference scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday, where Public Safety and Prevention Director Jim Beis, Police Chief Fady Dagher, Police Union Head Yves Francoeur, and the mayor will provide more insights.
The decision to introduce body cameras comes in the wake of Dagher’s strategy to rebuild public trust and address discrimination issues following allegations of racial profiling by a group of officers in Montreal’s north end. These allegations surfaced in June, revealing that 16 officers from Station 39 in Montréal-Nord were under investigation for alleged racist and discriminatory conduct towards Black and Arab individuals during police stops.
As part of the ongoing investigation, three officers have already been suspended, announced Dagher on August 11. Additionally, a recent report by a Quebec coroner on the accidental death of a 29-year-old man during a police intervention recommended the implementation of body cameras for police officers.