Moorland Rangers facing rising abuse to wear body cameras
DARTMOOR Rangers have been equipped with a body worn video camera after concerns for their safety.
It follows an increase in verbal abuse of Dartmoor Rangers and incidents where rangers have been threatened.
Rangers will trial the devices for 24 months and there will be a review of their effectiveness after 18 months. The cameras will be incident-specific and won’t be used for general patrols or duties.
Rangers will use body worn video camera to protect their health, safety and welfare in situations where they may experience physical or verbal abuse.
The introduction of the technology adds to Dartmoor National Park Authority’s existing health and safety policies that support staff and ensure they feel safe and secure at work.
The camera, worn attached to a Ranger’s uniform, will be clearly identifiable and capture moving images and audio.
Ranger team manager Simon Lee said: “Body worn video cameras offers us an extra layer of protection against any anti-social or aggressive behaviour by capturing specific incidents as they unfold. We hope they will act as a deterrent, but footage could be used as evidence to support legal action if it’s considered appropriate to do so.”
The introduction of BWV was unanimously agreed by Dartmoor National Park Authority in January.
Dr Kevin Bishop, Dartmoor National Park’s chief executive, had said: “The primary reason is to safeguard the staff. But if someone abuses the staff and it is captured, then it is footage we may well use for enforcement purposes.”