Charlottetown Police Services has invested in its community camera program (eWatch and automated license plate readers) since 2016. The program was created to support crime prevention, improve investigative capabilities and enhance both community and officer safety.
The program has grown significantly and now includes partners in communities beyond Charlottetown such as Borden, Cornwall, Stratford and Summerside.
We regularly share evidence and intelligence with police jurisdictions in PEI and beyond. Our community camera program helps strengthen that work and supports our collective efforts in crime prevention.
In 2025, the program was enhanced to include body-worn cameras (BWCs) as part of its integrated intelligence system. BWCs are currently being used by frontline officers as part of the pilot project for our Real Time Operations Centre.
eWatch cameras are relied on 24/7 by dispatch, our technical services division and designated investigators. The department uses passive monitoring unless there is an active or ongoing incident which requires our immediate attention. The passive monitoring system allows us to go back 14 days to review or download footage related to a particular incident.
The Automated License Plate Readers actively monitor license plates against our “hot list” database that features a range of offences including expired and terminated plates, suspended drivers and stolen vehicles.
We are currently conducting a pilot project with body-worn cameras. During each patrol shift, some of our frontline officers are equipped with a body-worn camera. As this project progresses, we will deploy additional cameras for all frontline and non-frontline officers, along with special units.
The goal of the body-worn camera program is to improve overall community safety and well-being, with a keen focus on transparency, accountability and trust.