In-Car Digital Video System
National Traffic Services of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), headed by the Commissioner of the RCMP, has implemented the In-Car Digital Video System (ICDVS) as a long-term program. The ICDVS is used by law enforcement agencies to capture audio/video recordings of incidents and interactions with the general public, witnesses and/or suspects as they occur to aid in investigations and gather evidence. The intention is to enhance transparency and accountability if questions, concerns, or accusations against the RCMP arise after an incident, and to provide evidence for prosecution should an incident constitute a crime.
Sensitive personal information, including allegations or suspicions and the context surrounding the personal information may be collected. The personal information, collected under section 18 of the RCMP Act, may be used for criminal investigation and enforcement and national security which may affect individuals. The information may be disclosed to municipal, provincial and federal agencies. All individuals in areas policed by the RCMP may be recorded by the ICDVS.
The ICDVS has evolved from analog systems recording audio/video evidence on tapes to digital media evidence (DME) being recorded by digital video recorders (DVR) on DVD or, more recently, on other types of digital removable media. In-Car Video Systems have been used in RCMP vehicles since the early 1990s. There are currently over 2500 police vehicles equipped with cameras. The objective remains to provide RCMP officers with tools that allow them to meet the challenges of modern policing in a constantly changing environment.
The current ICDVS consists of five in-vehicle groups of components when deployed: the front vehicle audio/video capturing equipment, the back seat audio/video capturing equipment, the display and control equipment, the recording equipment, and wire/wireless export equipment. Recordings will be automatically started when the police vehicle's emergency lights or sirens are activated, the vehicle speed is over 140 km/h, the vehicle is involved in a collision, the member turns on the wireless microphone, or when the ICDVS is manually turned on. Any time the system is turned "on" the previous 30 seconds are automatically saved to the hard drive.
The WatchGuard application will be installed on workstations in detachments and serve as the client facing application to upload and manage the video files. RCMP Members will manually transfer the digital media evidence from the in-vehicle equipment to the workstation in their detachment.
Recommendations have been made to ensure personal information collected by ICDVS is handled in accordance with RCMP policy, compliant with legislative requirements. These recommendations will ensure that the personal information collected is protected, retained, and disposed of in a consistent manner. Personal information collected by an ICDVS is associated with Personal information Bank (PIB) RCMP PPU 005 – Operational Case Records. The PIB will be modified to reflect the digital storage used and the potential use of personal information in investigations relating to public complaints against the RCMP and code of conduct violations.
The ICDVS is a tool that allows Members to better realise the RCMP's mandate of preventing and investigating crime, maintaining peace and order, enforcing laws, contributing to national security, ensuring the safety of state officials and visiting dignitaries, and providing vital operational support services to other police and law enforcement agencies within Canada.
The RCMP is committed to safeguarding personal information that is collected and continuously reviews its policies and procedures to ensure compliance to federal legislation.
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