Saskatoon’s Police Chief says early this year they will be rolling out body worn cameras as a pilot project for the police service. Chief Troy Cooper says they do need additional staff to provide support for disseminating the footage.

As far as privacy issues, he points out that when you sit inside a police car you are automatically video and audio taped and the same applies to the Saskatoon Police Service building. And there has been protocol in place for several years in regards to the public being recorded. However, police do know they’ll need extra staff to prepare video footage for court in a manner that does protect privacy while managing more digital information. Chief Cooper says the cost of 40 cameras including storage of data, camera itself, and licensing fee is less than a cost of a police constable.