Chatham-Kent's police force is in no rush to equip officers with body cams as it waits for feedback from other agencies.
With over 2,400sq km to patrol, much of it without video surveillance from nearby buildings, chief Gary Conn admits there is a need.
"The device can provide us an unbiased, reliable eyewitness to community interactions with the police and it goes a long in increasing our trust and transparency with the public as well," he says.
Conn says the biggest setback is the cost associated with purchasing the cameras and the database needed to store the footage.
Police agencies across the country still have many unanswered questions.
"When are we going to activate them? The whole legality surrounding privacy concerns, court admissibility," he says. "For how long are we going to store this information."
Last May the Toronto Police Service launched a $500,000 year-long body cam pilot project. Conn says once the results of the project are released he will be more informed on how body cams could be integrated into the Chatham-Kent Police Service.
This January in nearby Amherstburg all 16 front-line police constables began using body cams. Sergeants are not equipped with the technology.
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