Brantford Police Service Digital Evidence
You or your organization may have recently received an invitation to upload digital evidence through an external link provided by the Brantford Police Service.
The information below outlines the privacy and security information behind this request.
Privacy & Technology at the Brantford Police Service (BPS)
The exploration and use of technology is essential for BPS to meet its obligations to the community regarding public safety, including the prevention and investigation of crimes, as well as to improve overall administration. Technologies assessments protect privacy and security while ensuring the public has access to police information, as outlined in the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).
BPS is committed to assessing the impacts of new and existing technology, procedures and programs with access and privacy at the forefront, as well as to ensure compliance with the Criminal Code of Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and any other relevant laws or legislation. As such, information is collected through lawful authority, judicial authorization or upon consent.
We continue our commitment to providing citizens with responsive policing services that foster a relationship of trust and transparency within our community.
Digital Evidence Management System
The BPS Digital Evidence Management System (DEMs) is a Canadian cloud-based platform that allows police to store, manage, transfer and share digital evidence across all public safety agencies. Axon Public Safety Canada operates this platform, also known as Evidence.com and Axon Evidence. The Province of Ontario, on behalf of all police services, procured this cloud-based technology to modernize evidence sharing securely amongst justice sector partners and the general public.
It provides capacity to capture, store, manage and share large audio and video files, including those recorded and shared through cell phones, 9-1-1 audio, interview room and body-worn cameras, as well as photographs. It allows the public to upload evidence related to an investigation directly to our system without the inconvenience of waiting for an officer to attend in person to collect the files.
Axon Public Safety Canada manages our DEMS platform through a Canadian cloud-based system. The system has established organizational-wide controls to ensure secure storage, transfer and disposal of all digital records. These controls govern any wrongful access, attempts to defeat security measures, and inappropriate or personal use of this infrastructure.
Evidence Submission Requests
Axon Community Request is the application BPS officers use within our DEMS platform to send electronic invitations to witnesses to upload photographic or video evidence into our secure storage cloud, without confiscating phones/devices or setting appointments to gather hard copies of these files. This reduces the need for the use of DVD’s, USB’s, or any other transportable method that ultimately increases the risk of a privacy breach through lost media or storage of personal information in multiple locations.
Axon Community Request allows critical evidence to be submitted securely by citizens into the BPS DEMs system, where the software's powerful features will create a chain of custody for all forms of digital evidence anywhere in the province. Files submitted through any Axon Community link will undergo a scan for viruses when the files are ingested into system.
Please visit Axon Public Safety Canada directly for information on their privacy considerations and security: https://www.axon.com/axon-citizen-privacy-policy and https://www.axon.com/security/axon-evidence.
Please review the following Evidence Submission Request FAQ’s for information on frequent questions or concerns on the security of your submission.
If you require any further information or clarification on this issue, please contact the investigating officer that sent you the submission request.
