Edmonton Police Axon/Corsight FRT bodycam pilot: internal documents confirm silent-mode watchlist scanning

Internal emails and documents disclosed to CBC News confirm that Edmonton Police Service’s facial recognition body camera pilot — the first of its kind in Canada — uses Corsight AI’s facial recognition model partnered with Axon hardware. Body cameras run facial recognition in silent mode without alerting front-line officers; potential matches against a watchlist are reviewed by trained EPS staff before any action is taken. The EPS Privacy Impact Assessment describes the continuous scanning as proactive surveillance constituting a significant adaptation of bodycam technology that generates a more sensitive category of personal information. A planned second phase would extend near-real-time notifications to officers following human review. Civil liberties academics and commentators have raised concerns about Corsight’s technology having been deployed during the Gaza conflict, where wrongful identifications of Palestinians were reported by Israeli security officials and the New York Times.