All patrol units of the Windsor Police Service will now be equipped with in-car cameras and body-worn microphones.
The police force tested the system through a pilot project that was first launched in June 2024. The equipment was expanded to frontline supervisors in October.
The devices start recording automatically during vehicle stops and emergency calls for service and can also be activated manually. They are designed for use in the general proximity of the vehicle.
"Say an officer was at a stop sign, car rolls through the stop sign and then they engage their lights to pull over the vehicle, it's going to buffer back so that they'll have video of the car going through," said Matt Caplin, Director of Technology Services for the Windsor Police Service.
Officers will inform members of the public that they are being recorded at the earliest opportunity during any interaction. The devices are also equipped with red lights that flash visibly while recording.
The recordings are saved for six months if no charges are laid. If the interaction results in charges they will be retained according to policy depending on the severity of the charges.
"It's an unbiased account of the events that occurred in and around a police vehicle. So that benefits both operational effectiveness in public safety but further to that it's an unbiased, transparent recording," said Caplin.
The devices were purchased through a provincial grant.