Chief Rick Hanson has been a long-time proponent of body cameras for police officers. Calgary police will all be outfitted with them soon.

As a wise old cop once said, there are three sides to every story: your side, the other person’s side, and the truth.

An innovative new tool will help ensure the truth triumphs in disputes arising from altercations involving Calgary police officers and members of the public.

Police will soon begin the first phase of the permanent rollout of 1,100 body-worn video cameras that is expected to be complete over the next several months.

Advocates of the technology say the small cameras shed bright light on encounters between police and members of the public and help moderates behavior on both sides.

One year-long study in Rialto, California showed use of force by officers dropped 59 percent and complaints against officers dropped 87 percent when the cameras were in use.

In Albuquerque, N.M., on Jan. 12, two police officers were charged with murder in the death of a homeless man based on evidence from the cameras.

In other jurisdictions, the cameras have exonerated officers falsely accused of abusive behavior.

In a world where everyone has a cellphone camera, it is only fair that officers should also be able to video events that might offer a different viewpoint.

Teamed up with facial recognition software, they will also serve as a valuable crime-fighting tool. Police will be able to take a photo from a crime scene and compare it with hundreds of thousands of photos, eliminating a previously time-consuming task done by hand.