The Cornwall Police Services Board received a detailed presentation from Special Constable Georges Levere recently week on the implementation and impact of body-worn cameras, which have been fully operational in the city since October 2023.
“These devices are used to provide an accurate account of police interactions with members of the public,” said Levere. “They promote fairness by capturing evidence that may support the prosecution and/or the defense, and they promote professionalism and accountability from police staff.”
Levere, who is responsible for the force’s digital evidence management platform, emphasized that the video and audio footage collected cannot be modified, with all actions logged and auditable. “We can see who’s accessed footage, whether it’s been played, and we don’t have control over the audit component -– that comes directly from the Axon platform. This adds legitimacy to our program,” he explained.
Among the key benefits highlighted were faster court proceedings, fewer officer court appearances, improved training opportunities, and increased public trust. “We’ve already seen on the provincial offences side that it’s speeding up those matters,” Levere noted. “It’s also saving the accused multiple returns to court.”
While the program has demonstrated early success, Levere acknowledged some challenges, including costs and privacy compliance. “We have an obligation under both MFIPPA and the Crown Attorney’s Office to ensure that personal information about witnesses is redacted. The recordings are blurred and audio is redacted when necessary,” he said.
Officers are trained to activate their cameras during calls for service, with certain actions like emergency light activation or taser deployment automatically triggering recording. Cameras are affixed visibly to officers’ vests and emit tones and LED signals when in use.
Beyond legal and procedural advantages, Levere underscored a practical impact: “When people know they’re being recorded, the chances are the behaviour will come down. Everyone’s more rational and everything proceeds more fairly.”
With 90 per cent of police services in Ontario either using or adopting body-worn cameras, Cornwall is part of a growing shift toward transparent policing. Levere concluded, “We’ve had situations already where a complaint could be resolved quite quickly by reviewing the video. It’s no longer ‘he said, she said’ – it’s all there.”
