Police will soon wear body cameras as part of an ongoing commitment to improving officer and community safety
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NSW Police Force has started rolling out body-worn video (BWV) cameras to frontline police across the state.
Local police will wear the cameras on their uniform, allowing officers to record incidents or events where visual and audio evidence will support an investigation.
The new cameras do not record all the time, instead they are activated for use in operational policing activities, or where recording is deemed in public interest.
"Our officers have millions of interactions with the community every year, and BWV will provide a record of the actions of both the officer and individuals they are engaged with," NSW Police Force Commissioner Andrew Scipione said.
"The vision will essentially be used for evidence gathering to support prosecutions, but it will also allow police to analyse interactions, improve practices and support officer training and education.
"Local and international trials have noted other positive benefits of BWV, including lower incidence and escalation of violence, reduced officer injuries, reduced time spent on paperwork and increased time on patrol, enhanced brief of evidence preparation, and improved behaviour of both police and the public.
"BWV will hold everyone to account for their actions, including police.
"A picture is worth a thousand words, and if you're recorded doing the wrong thing - no matter who you are - the evidence will be tough to dispute." NSW Police Force completed a successful trial of BWV camera technology in 2013 and 2014, proving the viability of the concept to support frontline police.
The state government has committed $4 million over two years to rollout the cameras.
The cameras record high-definition wide-view vision and high quality audio; it is also capable of taking still photographs, record audio only and record in low-light situations.
In addition, the cameras can also live-stream footage to remote police command positions, which could prove useful in some operational situations.
The footage is also encrypted, safely stored on the camera and once downloaded onto the secure police database all footage on the camera is erased.
There are five guiding principles, which form the basis for appropriate and lawful use of BWV, and include:
1. BWV camera equipment will be used by NSW Police in the lawful execution of their duties. Police will use their discretion when deciding to use it and its use will be obvious and overt.
2. Generally, BWV will be used by police to record events, incidents and evidence. However, there will be some instances where BWV should not be used and some occasions when its use may not be appropriate.
3. BWV supports conventional forms of evidence gathering, it does not replace them.
4. BWV recordings will be securely processed and managed in accordance with relevant legislation, policies, and procedures.
5. The NSW Police Force will provide general information to the community on the use of BWV by police.
Further information about BWV, including standard operating procedures are available to the community at the NSW Police Force website www.police.nsw.gov.au.
