Huge benefits to body-worn cameras if rolled out right

SOUTH Yorkshire Police must have the appropriate policies in place before body worn cameras are to be rolled out to officers, the local Police Federation has warned.

Zuleika Payne, Chair Elect of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said there was “immense value” in having body worn cameras, but there must be clear rules on issues such as when the devices are turned on and off and how the footage and information is stored.

“If we are going to have it, we need to have everything we need to protect both officers and individuals alike,” said Zuleika. “We have got to have the policy, got to have the equipment, and we have to do it properly.”

New research from Cambridge University shows that police body cameras can dramatically reduce the number of complaints against officers.

Nearly 2,000 officers across four UK forces and two US police departments were monitored for the project, which found that complaints by members of the public fell by 93 per cent over 12 months compared with the previous year.

Zuleika said there will need to be further discussions with the force working groups exploring the idea of body worn cameras for officers.

“There is immense value in having body worn camera,” she said. “Historically, a concern has always been that when officers write statements and they are read out in court it doesn’t actually capture everything. You can’t capture the tone and the flavour of what’s happening at the time, so there are huge benefits to having body worn cameras because they give witnesses and juries a real sense of what it was like to be in that situation at the time.”

Zuleika said there were “huge savings all round” to be had, as video evidence captured by body worn cameras could save police officers court time and afford greater protection for officers and the people involved in incidents.