HALIFAX -- Halifax Regional Police will officially take another look at body-worn cameras for officers, after the Board of Police Commissioners requested a city hall staff report looking into a potential pilot project.

It's something that has been called for in recent months.

"Here in HRM we've had incidents in the past year, in Walmart, in Bedford, and Spring Garden Road. Would body camera footage have been useful in that situation?" said Coun. Tony Mancini.

Mancini recently created a motion asking city staff to revisit the idea.

A 2017 report concluded that the benefit of body-worn cameras was not worth the cost for Halifax police. That report estimated $1.4 million per year in costs for a five-year pilot project with 50 cameras.

Mancini was a councillor in 2017, but says his views have changed.

"The issues around policing and how policing needs to change, and that technology, from my understanding, has changed also," said Mancini. "It's not as expensive as it was, and the security aspect is much better than it used to be. So, my intention here is, let's look at this data, confirm those numbers are accurate, and try to do a pilot to look at it."

This comes after a petition calling for body-worn cameras was delivered to council with over 109,000 signatures.

At least one Nova Scotia police force is already wearing them.

All police officers in Kentville, N.S., have worn body-cameras on duty since 2018 after a successful pilot project began in 2015.

"They allow us to be transparent and accountable to the public," said Kentville Police Service Deputy Chief Marty Smith. "It shows a picture of the officer's dealings with an investigation. It's also good for use with public complaints so we have a picture of what took place."

"I think it's something that's beneficial for every officer to have, and it's shown that for us. So, I'm glad it's something we looked at in 2015 and it's not cheap, but in the end, it's well worth what we have to pay."

Mancini acknowledges that the cost of the cameras might seem to go against the idea of defunding the police -- something that the police commission is also requesting a report on.

"The defund movement, many of them say no. Less money for police. Put it towards other types of programs and don't spend any more money," said Mancini. "This means spending more money, but I feel it is on tools that will be helpful and provide better policing in our community."

Halifax District RCMP say they plan on conducting their own separate report on the feasibility of body-worn cameras.

RCMP Chief Supt. Janis Gray said surveys have been conducted looking into the technology, and discussions continue at a federal level.