More Ottawa Police officers to begin wearing body-worn cameras
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 30, 2026 10 a.m.
Ottawa — Residents will see more Ottawa Police Service (OPS) officers wearing body-worn cameras as the Service expands the technology across frontline and specialized policing roles.
Beginning this fall, OPS will deploy 200 additional body-worn cameras to trained officers, with the rollout continuing through the end of 2026.
This represents a significant expansion from the initial pilot, which began in November 2025 with 30 cameras assigned to Crisis Intervention Team members and select officers.
Body-worn cameras give officers an additional tool to document interactions, capture evidence, and support investigations, while also giving members of the public a clearer record of police interactions. They can support transparency, evidence collection, training, and timely incident review, and can improve how digital evidence is collected and processed through tools such as transcription and translation.
“Body-worn cameras are an important tool for both our officers and the communities we serve,” said Chief Eric Stubbs. “They can help officers capture important evidence, provide added context during complex interactions, and give the public greater insight into how those interactions unfold. As we expand their use across the Service, we’re giving our members another modern tool to support their work while continuing to strengthen confidence in the policing services we provide.”
Cameras will be deployed to selected frontline and specialized officers as mandatory training and implementation are completed.
In the training, officers will learn the safe and lawful use of the technology and how to effectively use body-worn cameras to support transparency, accountability, investigations, and complaint resolution, while participating in practical exercises and scenario-based training to ensure operational readiness.
OPS ultimately intends to equip officers working in frontline roles with body-worn cameras, with a further deployment of 650 cameras continuing through 2027, bringing the total number of body-worn cameras deployed across the city to 880.
Body-worn cameras are worn visibly on an officer’s uniform but do not record continuously. Officers will activate cameras in accordance with OPS policy and training, including during designated calls for service, investigations and enforcement activities.
Where practical and safe, officers will advise members of the public when a body-worn camera is recording.
OPS is committed to implementing the use of body-worn cameras in a manner that supports transparency, accountability, officer and public safety, evidence-based investigations, professional standards and public trust.
Privacy protections are built into the program through policy, training, secure storage, access controls, audit processes, and established retention and disclosure requirements.
The OPS will manage body-worn camera footage in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and evidence requirements.
Facial recognition technology is not part of the OPS body-worn camera program and will not be used through the cameras or related systems.
The expanded deployment follows the initial implementation of body-worn cameras in 2025 and the Ottawa Police Service Board’s June 2026 approval of the program's next phase.
For more information about body-worn cameras, including answers to frequently asked questions, visit ottawapolice.ca.
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