Body-cams will fight disorder

Protest antennae within the civil liberties movement will no doubt be twitching at news more body cameras are to employed in our community.

The invasion of privacy card could soon be played amid fears Big Brother surveillance is to increase on our Metro system.

While there may be legitimate concerns about the proliferation of cameras in our society, the move to issue Metro staff with body mounted recorders makes total sense. After timetable disruption and delays, one of the biggest concerns to passengers is crime, or more precisely, the fear of crime.

Body cameras have their critics, but they are a great tool which benefit, not only commuters who use the system, but staff who patrol it. There are few will envy the ticket inspectors and other Metro staff who have deal with the drink-fuelled fare dodgers and disruptive yobs who have been known to plague the system.

Of course, there are privacy issues involved, but as has been pointed out by those in charge, the cameras are not on all of the time.

They are clearly marked on staff uniforms and activated at the touch of a button. Their mere presence can act as a deterrent to would-be trouble makers.

While the reported words of two parties can easily be disputed, the camera never (or at least very rarely) lies.

Inspector Brian Buddo, of British Transport Police, says body worn cameras provide evidence in cases and speed up the justice process for victims, reassure the public and help staff by diffusing escalating incidents.

The protest antennae can twitch all they want, what matters most is public safety, and the body cameras appear to have framed the safety issue nicely.