Renfrew considering giving lone bylaw officer a body camera

Town council in Renfrew, Ont., is considering giving their only bylaw officer a body camera to improve the employee's safety and promote accountability.

Renfrew's emergency services committee will be voting on a body camera policy on Tuesday.

According to a document submitted to the committee in preparation for the vote, bylaw officers deal with issues such as parking violations, animal control and noise complaints.

"However, the nature of their duties often puts them in potentially contentious or confrontational situations, where their actions may be subject to scrutiny or debate," the document reads.

Reeve Peter Emon, who chairs the town's human resources committee, said part of the mandate is to ensure employees are safe.

Furthermore, Emon said the town wants fair, effective and equitable bylaw services that also respect the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code.

"[The body camera policy] allows us to have comfort that we're doing that," Emon said. "And if we're not, then we have to provide appropriate training."

Peter Emon chairs the Town of Renfrew's human resources committee. He said the town wants fair and effective bylaw services that respect people's personal rights. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

Bylaw officer cameras rare

Several police forces in Ontario, including Toronto, Peel Region and Waterloo either run or have run pilot projects with body cameras.

However, Emon said very few municipalities have equipped their bylaw officers with the technology. He referenced Guelph, Ont., which approved a permanent policy last year after running its own pilot project.

While there will only be one local bylaw officer with a body camera, Emon said the town would look into adding another officer if the workload demanded it.

"They're often out alone dealing with the public, and 99 times out of a hundred, [there's no] issue. But we should prepare for that one time," Emon said.

If council approves the body camera policy, Emon said he thinks the program should be reviewed within a year.

He also said the program could be expanded to other positions like fire marshals and building code officials.