Cops with cameras future of policing: Vancouver chief

Wearing video cameras will be routine for Vancouver police officers in the next few years, says the police chief in Canada's third-largest city. Chief Constable Jim Chu says he favours the idea, suggesting it would be the ultimate means of preserving the truth in incidents that draw police attention.

“This is a new world. Ten years ago, you would never see video. Now you're going to see it all the time,” Chief Chu said in an interview. “I'll give you the future: Officers will be wearing body cameras.”

Chief Chu, who was appointed chief in 2007, said he expects they will be routine in Vancouver before his term as chief is over. Police chiefs in Vancouver serve five-year terms, although their contracts can be renewed with the agreement of the chief and the police board.

Chief Chu said he expected body cameras would “ensure many more guilty pleas than what we have now,” referring, for example, to domestic-abuse cases. He also referred to cases of causing a disturbance. “The person is yelling and screaming and everything like that. The best evidence is actually a video of what the person is doing, and the crowd around it.”