Police candid camera
Every officer may get hi-tech device to help battle crime
EVERY police officer in Scotland could soon be fitted with a controversial body camera video recorder in a hi-tech fight against crime.
The cameras would provide an audio and video record of every incident dealt with by the police – in a move aimed at reducing crime and also making it easier for officers to prosecute criminals.
A trial of the technology in the North-east of Scotland has proved successful in speeding up convictions and cutting the number of offences.
Now Police Scotland bosses are considering plans to roll out the scheme across Scotland – with some senior officers telling The Scottish Mail on Sunday the move is likely to be given the go-ahead.
The cameras already in use in and around Aberdeen provide an audio and video record of every incident dealt with by the officers. The pilot project has led to a greater number of quicker and easier prosecutions, cutting out a number of malicious complaints against the police and making evidence-gathering much clearer.
Calum Steele, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said the response from officers on the ground to the body cameras had been ‘overwhelmingly positive’ and he expected them to be rolled out across the country ‘as soon as the money can be found’.
Police Scotland chiefs are now assessing the north-east trial project before deciding whether or not to take it further. Chief Superintendent Gordon Samson said: ‘Police Scotland is currently considering options for the future use of bodyworn videos, building on the experience across the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and Moray divisions.’
The cameras have proved particularly useful when police officers are assaulted and also help in sorting out conflicting stories from domes- tic abuse cases. Scottish Labour justice spokesman Graeme Pearson can see the advantages, but warned: ‘I can also see the concerns.
‘Would you want to be filmed if you were out in the early hours with a female friend? Or what if the people the police officers are talking to are in a state of undress?’