Thanks to the success of a pilot program, the City of Vancouver has expanded body-worn cameras to all parking enforcement officers.
All parking enforcement officers will be equipped with these cameras after a six-month pilot showed that there was a reduction in safety incidents involving the public.
According to a statement from the City of Vancouver, there were fifteen enforcement officers who participated in the pilot, which launched last August.
The pilot was launched to deter verbal abuse and violence towards parking enforcement officers. In the pilot announcement, the City revealed that on average, an officer was assaulted once every two weeks in 2024, with incidents on the rise.
“Data collected during the trial period showed a meaningful decline in both verbal abuse and physical aggression toward officers wearing cameras. There was an approximately 26 per cent decline in violent incidents compared to the prior year,” the City said.
The City claimed that participants who used cameras felt safer compared to those who didn’t use them.
“We need to provide a safe working environment for our employees – they need to be safe and feel safe when they’re out doing their jobs,” said Chief Safety Officer Magnus Enfeldt.
“What we saw in the pilot and heard from staff was very encouraging. The cameras helped defuse situations and gave staff more confidence in their work, knowing they were safer,” Enfeldt added.
The City says that the cameras are strictly for safety and will not be used to enforce parking regulations. Parking officers will enable the cameras “only when” they feel their safety is at risk, notifying individuals that recording has begun.
“Recordings that do not form part of an investigation will continue to be deleted within five days,” the City says.
You can read more about the City’s parking enforcement officer body-worn camera program on the City of Vancouver website.